Dome slips away from Bourne’s grasp

Dome slips away from Bourne's grasp

Legacy plc, the property company headed by chartered accountant Robert Bourne, has lost its preferred bidder status for the Millennium Dome, after it failed to agree conditions and contractual obligations with the government.

Legacy was meant to have reached an agreement with the government by Tuesday this week, effectively handing the millionaire property developer the rights to develop a high-tech office park at the Dome.

The Pounds 125m package would have created 14,000 jobs in three years by building a silicon valley-style e-business park to be known as Knowledge City .

However, Dome minister Lord Falconer said Legacy had failed to meet various conditions, including the resolution of a number of contractual issues and had ‘run out of time’.

Commenting on the announcement, Robert Bourne, said: ‘We are both surprised and disappointed by the government’s announcement.’

Bourne added he would now have to meet with his management team to decide whether Legacy should continue its participation in the bidding process.

The process to choose a company to redevelop the Dome has been marred by controversy. In September, the first preferred bidder, Japanese Bank Nomura, pulled out a Pounds 105m plan to build an entertainment park.

The government’s decision now leaves the door open for other interested parties including a consortium being put together by Pierre-Yves Gerbeau, former chief executive of the now-defunct Millennium project.

Gerbeau led the cry for the bidding process to be reopened.

‘We are the only ones who have a vision for the Dome as a public venue, we want to keep it as a public venue and that’s why we are favoured by the British public,’ Gerbeau told BBC Online.

No date has been set for a decision on who will manage the Dome’s future. In a letter deputy prime minister John Prescott told the House of Commons that the government would ‘openly test the market’, and added that there had been ‘considerable expressions of interest’ from other parties.

Links

Dome to close, but website will live on

Dome future in the hands of accountant

IT trouble hits Dome chiefs

Parliament not told of Dome indemnity

Share

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Resources & Whitepapers

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata
Professional Services

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

3y

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folde...

In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...

View resource
2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

3y

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professi...

In recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...

View resource
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine
Accounting Firms

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

3y

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021
Making Tax Digital

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

3y

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

The first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...

View resource