Shepherd Construction has secured a £33 million contract to renovate an historic building in London that will become a luxury lifestyle hotel under the Edition brand, created by Marriott International in partnership with American hotelier Ian Schrager.

For Shepherd Construction the contract means a resumption of work on the renovation of the grade ll listed former Berners Hotel in Fitzrovia, almost two years after the contractor left the site when the project stalled. The previous owner JJW Hotels & Resorts subsequently fell into administration in August 2010.


The hotel, which has been closed since 2006, was bought by Marriott International in November 2010 and will become The London Edition when it opens in 2013. The hotel will be one of six Edition hotels that are scheduled to be operating across three continents by 2015.

The building, which was originally built in 1835 as five separate houses, will have the façade restored to its former glory and the interior extensively refurbished to create a 175-bedroom stylised hotel. Shepherd is due to complete work on the project by December 2012.

The project utilises the turnkey approach offered by Shepherd's Built Environment Division as architect on the project is Shepherd and M&E services will be provided by sister company SES. Quantity surveyor is Gleeds Cost Management.

The contractor's other current London projects include a £58 million project to create a new school at Holland Park; a £27 million luxury apartment scheme near Regent's Park and a £4.5 million project to convert a warehouse into apartments at Pimlico.

(CD/DW)