Dome competition opened up to new bidders

Thursday, 15 February 2001

Legacy, the consortium backed by Irish property group Treasury holdings, has lost its preferred bidder status for the Millennium Dome site.

The British government confirmed today that fresh bids would be invited in a new competition, in which Legacy could still be involved.

Legacy, whose preferred bidder status ran out yesterday, wants to turn the Millennium Dome into a hi-tech business city.

The deal had been due to be resolved by Wednesday, but the talks had dragged on amid concerns over the consortium's financial arrangements.

The Dome's former chief, Frenchman Pierre-Yves Gerbeau, made a last-ditch plug yesterday for his own offer to buy the riverside site, saying he had the backing of Japanese bank Nomura.

The Dome, which British Prime Minister Tony Blair once wanted to be the greatest show on earth, has instead been a constant source of painful embarrassment to his government since it opened on Millennium Eve amid great fanfare. The attraction failed to meet visitor targets and swallowed up nearly £1 billion in funding.

With a general election expected in May, political observers say Blair's government is anxious to complete the sale as quickly as possible and rid itself of the Dome.

A property consortium including the company run by the Duke of Westminster, one of Britain's richest men, said earlier this week that it had decided against joining Legacy's bid.

Legacy later named private property company Teesland Group as its new bidding partner, hoping the additional backing would clinch the deal.