The contract to sell the £500m Hyde Park Barracks, SW7, is coming back to market following the shock departure of the civil servant in charge of the project.
Paul Howarth, the project officer behind the proposed sale, is leaving the Ministry of Defence’s property arm – the Defence Infrastructure Organisation – later this month.
The DIO said it will re-pitch for property support on the project, with market sources predicting invitations will be sent by the end of June, further delaying a sale.
A disposal of the six-acre site is contingent on finding a new home for current occupier the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.
Plans to re-pitch the mandate have quashed hopes that a study by CBRE – commissioned 18 months ago – would result in the relocation of the regiment, freeing up the land for a £1bn-plus redevelopment.
Howarth leaves the MoD after 22 years and just weeks before the expected award of a £400m-plus contract to outsource much of its property function.
He said: “It remains the MoD’s intention to study options to re-provide for the HCMR elsewhere in central London, allowing for the disposal of Hyde Park Barracks.” However, the study “does not suppose relocation is the only acceptable outcome”.
Howarth joins the Foreign & Commonwealth Office on 27 February, working in the estates department.
Joanna.Bourke@estatesgazette.com
