Topping Out Ceremony
Friday 4th December 2020
Hampton by Hilton – High Wycombe
Press Release by Legacy Hotels & Resorts and RG Group
The ‘topping out’ of this brand-new hotel has, like the project itself, defied the odds stacked against it. The forecast was for snow – they settled for rain and then a lucky break in the weather which was time enough for invited guests to briefly congregate on the roof for the traditional celebration of the ‘topping out’ milestone when the highest point of a building is completed.
You cannot miss High Wycombe’s newest hotel, part of the £150m development of the Handy Cross Hub and situated alongside the M40 motorway at junction 4. The landmark 150 bed, £21m Hampton by Hilton development will be the UK’s first fully compliant new brand prototype and is a result of the hard work by the development company owners – Frank Truman Asset Management and Legacy Hotels & Resorts supported by its specially assembled design team with RG Group, the main contractor responsible for the construction of the scheme.
Since the sites acquisition in late 2018 it has not been plain sailing to reach this stage of the project. Covid 19, along with adverse weather conditions and a race to secure development funding prior to the full commercial implications of the global pandemic hitting the market, has made conditions extremely challenging yet it is testament to the whole project team that they have been able to stay on program and commit to the original scheduled opening date of May 2021.
Marlow resident Andy Townsend, Founding Director and Chief Executive Officer of Legacy Hotels & Resorts said the hotel has in recent months established its position on the local skyline and I am confident it will also dominate its market within the competitor landscape once open and trading.
He said: “having spent much of 2019 in design workshops to enable the construction to commence in early 2020 – little did we know that actually opening the hotel may be one of the easier aspects to this project – the implications of the pandemic on the construction process have certainly tested the skills of the whole design team lead by Lambert Smith Hampton as Development and Project Manager. I am proud of all the projects we invest and have ownership in – to have one on my doorstep certainly focuses the mind a little more. I have no doubt the result designed by ICA Architects and Interior Designers will leave a positive and legacy”.
John Kallend, RG Group board director said: “We are delighted to have reached this significant milestone in the project. The whole team have worked extremely hard in testing times this year to get to this stage. We now look forward to the next few months and a successful completion and opening of the hotel.”
The ‘topping out’ was a great success and guests were treated to a scene from A Christmas Carol on the roof of the hotel, courtesy of cost consultant 3 Sphere’s Dwayne Officer, the project Quantity Surveyor. Dwayne was photographed lying in a hotel bed dressed as Scrooge (no inference intended!).
