London’s iconic BT Tower is set to become a luxury hotel after it was sold by the telecommunications group BT for £275 million to American hotelier MCR hotels. The Grade II listed landmark in Fitzrovia once dominated the central London skyline and played a key role in carrying the country’s calls, messages and TV signals. The tower held the record of the tallest building in London until 1980. MCR Hotels has partnered with London architecture firm Heatherwick Studio to transform the tower to a hotel. The new owners have confirmed they plan to bring back the revolving restaurant that offers stunning views across the city.

But it’s not just the BT Tower that’s been given a new lease of life – here are some other noteworthy redevelopments that have caught our attention.

Battersea Power Station

Another Grade II listed landmark, Battersea Power Station, reopened in 2022 as a shopping and leisure complex, after lying dormant for decades. One of the world’s largest brick buildings, it was operational as a power station between the 1930s and 1980. At its peak it provided a fifth of London’s power supply, including the electricity supply to Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament. Following abandoned plans to convert the disused site to a theme park, the £9bn redevelopment as a mixed-use space commenced in 2013.

The 42 acre site is now home to over 100 shops, 254 apartments, and 46,000 square metres of office space, including Apple’s London headquarters.

Beatties

We may be biased, but we’re most excited about the redevelopment of the former Beatties department store in Wolverhampton. The 146-year-old building has been empty since House of Fraser vacated the building in 2020.

The landmark site in the centre of Wolverhampton, which spans 376,636 sq. ft, will be redeveloped into 400 new homes following the sale brokered through our team at Robert Irving Burns, acting on behalf of receivers Alexander Lawson Surveyors for KSEYE Capital.

The former Beatties site was acquired for £6.15m by the Eden Property Group, a property investment company specialising in urban land planning. The redevelopment will unlock the wider regeneration of Wolverhampton city centre and has the support of West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).

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