South Bank project originally won by up-for-sale Lendlease over two years ago

Multiplex has won the retendered redevelopment of ITV’s former London headquarters on the South Bank – more than two years after Lendlease was originally chosen for the job.

Known as Project Vista, Lendlease won the scheme in May 2022 but two years later the firm was put up for sale by its Australian owner.

Development manager CO-RE and funder Mitsubishi Estate decided on a plan B because of the uncertainty caused by Lendlease’s decision to sell up.

Make ITV 1

A local campaign group has been given permission to challenge former communities secretary Michael Gove’s decision to give the job the green light earlier this year. A hearing is set for next week

Multiplex and Mace priced the revised deal with the scheme now expected to cost around £500m to complete.

The job is Multiplex’s first for both CO-RE and Mitsubishi with McGee slated to start demolition work next month ahead of project completion in early 2029.

But the job is facing a judicial review with a High Court hearing due to take place next Tuesday and Wednesday before a decision the following month.

A local campaign group called Save Our South Bank (SOSB) has been given permission to challenge former communities secretary Michael Gove’s decision to give the job the green light earlier this year.

Designed by Make, the scheme has stirred controversy due to its scale and proximity to listed buildings and is described by SOSB as ‘The Slab’.

SOSB have said that the former ITV tower could be refurbished to provide 200 homes and 500,000 sq ft of offices while saving a huge amount of embodied carbon compared to Make’s full redevelopment approach.

The scheme at 72 Upper Ground has been mired in hold-ups since Lendlease originally won it with the job being called in by the previous government and the decision repeatedly held up before Gove finally gave it the green light in February this year.

Others working on the job include including QS T&T Alinea, landscape architect Grant Associates and engineer Arup.