Work at the new Hilton Hotel at Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl cricket ground has halted whilst the search begins for a new contractor after developer Denizen – also the main contractor on the 175-room hotel – went into administration.
Denizen is reported to have told the BBC that the business has suffered from serious problems with the pricing of a number of contracts. Sadly, the Denizen website opens with the statement:
“Denizen Contracts was established in 2007 by the Monetier/Sanguine Hospitality Group, who as an experienced hospitality developer and operations company had become increasingly dissatisfied with the service of external construction companies. Denizen was formed to provide an expert construction operation within the business to ensure developments were delivered to the highest standards.
The success of Denizen in delivering its objectives has resulted in the company expanding to facilitate construction schemes for external clients with the aim of providing the same unrivalled construction and development service.”
In a statement, Hampshire Cricket Club said: “Whilst there will inevitably be a short delay to the opening of the hotel, funding to complete the project remains in place and the process to replace Denizen as the main contractor is already underway.”