Landmark BT Tower to become luxury hotel
Us-based group MCR buys building, closed to public since 1971, for £275m amid hotel boom in London
THE BT Tower will begin a new life as a hotel after BT signed a £275 million deal to sell it to a Us-based hotel chain.
The skyscraper, initially known as the Post Office Tower, was originally a critical hub for broadcasting TV and phone signals across the UK.
But as these services shifted to more modern networks, the landmark’s purpose faded. In the modern world, the building’s technological value is limited according to Sir Mike Rake, the former chairman of BT, who described it as an “iconic white elephant”.
The Grade-ii listed tower in Fitzrovia was completed in 1964 and opened for operations by Harold Wilson, the prime minister at the time, the following year, before the public were allowed in by Tony Benn, the postmaster general, in 1966. Rising 189 metres above London, it was the UK’S tallest building until 1980, when it was usurped by the Natwest Tower in the City of London.
The tower was open to the public until 1971 and featured a restaurant on the revolving floor, which was operated by the holiday resort owner Butlin’s. Public access ended that year when a terrorist bomb detonated on the 31st floor. No one was injured in the attack, but the damage took two years to repair. Since 1984, the suite at the top has been used by BT as corporate hospitality space and for charity events.
In 2009, the tower’s 360-degree LED screen, dubbed the “information band”, was launched. It was used to display a countdown to the London 2012 Olympics, as well as to carry messages during national events such as the pandemic.
In recent years the building, which was technically classified under the Official Secrets Act until 1993, has only opened its doors to the public for special events. In 2015, the revolving restaurant reopened for one night, while in 2018, four guests were given a one-off chance to glamp on the skyscraper’s 34th floor. Gavin Patterson, BT’S chief executive at the time, hailed the building as a “unique feat of engineering” on its half-centenary and added: “It has been a working icon of technological innovation for 50 years.”
However, much of the building has stood empty for years. As part of the new deal, MCR will make phased payments as leftover equipment is removed from the building.
“The proposal to transform the BT Tower into a hotel shows that new uses can be found for even the most unlikely and iconic listed buildings,” said Henrietta Billings, the director of Save Britain’s Heritage, which campaigns to find new uses for historic buildings.
“Done right, this could be one of London’s most exciting new destinations. We look forward to seeing the emerging plans with interest.”
The move to sell the tower comes in the first weeks of Allison Kirkby’s tenure as BT’S chief executive, though the deal was likely pushed through by Simon Lowth, its finance chief.
It comes amid broader cost-cutting at BT, which has announced plans to cut 55,000 jobs by the end of the decade in an effort to save £3billion.
MCR, which is led by the veteran hotel executive Tyler Morse, said it will partner with Heatherwick Studio, the London-based architecture firm behind projects including Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross. Thomas Heatherwick, the studio’s founder, said it was an “amazing opportunity to bring it back to life”.
London is currently enjoying a boom of luxury hotels, with rooms costing from £1,000 a night.
A spokesman for MCR said: “MCR is fully aware that the tower is a listed structure and will have time to consider the right design approach.”