Council votes to buy unbuilt Hilton hotel

Councillors were urged to support the bid to buy the hotel and reject a third-party offer to develop the site

A council has voted to buy an unfinished hotel to claw back nearly £17m invested in the site.

Peterborough City Council's cabinet agreed to submit a bid for the Hilton in Fletton Quays.

Work ground to a halt after the developers fell into administration last year.

Councillors were urged to approve a takeover rather than accept a third-party bid to develop the site.

The authority hopes to buy the freehold and ensure the project is completed.

The council's bid matches the £16.7m value of its loan to the hotel's developers, including interest.

The hotel has been under construction for several years but work stalled in 2020 and the council brought in administrators to look at the hotel's developers in 2023.

It was intended to be a vital part of the Fletton Quays development, with 160 bedrooms and a rooftop bar with views of the city's cathedral.

The council said it would not need to spend more money to take ownership of the freehold to the site, and estimates it will cost about £14.4m to complete the scheme.

A further report will now be made in the summer setting out "next steps".

An Australian-based investment management firm called PAG also put in a bid to buy the hotel.

A spokesperson for Hilton said: "Hilton Garden Inn Peterborough remains an important project for us and we look forward to working closely with key stakeholders to complete the development at the earliest opportunity."