Home Top

American mother gunned down in Mali massacre: Aid worker is named as first victim after terrorists slaughtered 27 at hotel favored by Westerners leaving bodies piled up in gore-spattered corridors
EXCLUSIVE - The extreme lengths five young Syrian men went to in bid to enter the US amid ISIS fears: Greek passports forged in Brazil, hopping from country to country and not checking luggage to avoid scrutiny
How $700-a-month ISIS video producers dictate the terrorist group's every action and receive better treatment (any better salaries) than any of their peers
Chris Christie in mystery security scare: His plane returns to the gate, passengers are searched and one man is taken off the flight after 'threatening' the New Jersey governor
Fingerprints now reveal that TWO of the Paris suicide bombers had entered Europe through Greece a month before the attacks
Pro-refugee protests are staged across US amid outrage at Trump for agreeing with 'Nazi-like' plan to make Muslims register
Obama says Mali attack 'stiffens our resolve' as he condemns atrocity and meets refugees on the latest leg of his Asian tour
'We didn't know how close we were to being killed': Revealed, the friends who survived Paris massacre because jihadi's AK-47 ran out of bullets in Mail's incredible video
UN Security Council approves 'all necessary measures' to fight the 'global and unprecedented threat' of ISIS in wake of Paris attacks
'Cowgirl' cousin did NOT blow herself up... but died when third ISIS terrorist detonated suicide vest standing next to her in Paris siege apartment, police reveal
Shadow of a bloody past: For centuries, Islam and Christianity were locked in a brutal conflict most have forgotten. The horror, a top historian argues, is that for jihadis it's as real today as it was in the Middle Ages
Jihadi suspect arrested in Sweden after crossing Arctic Circle on a BICYCLE to sneak into Europe via the backdoor
Thousands of Canadians line the streets to pay tribute to ex-soldier who joined Kurdish militia and died fighting ISIS
'Christmas is a charade': Pope says atrocities such as Paris massacre have made festivities meaningless in a world which has chosen 'war and hate'
'We shouldn't be scared - we are still going out': Defiant Parisians pack the streets of the French capital to honour of those killed exactly one week ago
'This is for Paris': Russian pilots write messages of support for terror victims on their bombs before launching latest air raids and cruise missile strikes against ISIS
Air France plane traveling from Paris to San Francisco performs mystery u-turn over the English Channel and lands back at Charles de Gaulle airport
Flagship Manhattan Apple Store brought to a standstill as man in a mask terrorizes customers with a Samurai sword
CCTV shows massacre mastermind jump barriers and use Metro without a ticket as terror reigned across Paris
Brother of Paris mastermind was arrested in Morocco last month after arriving in his father's hometown and has been held in custody ever since
Newlywed couple let seven frightened strangers fleeing from the Paris terror attacks join them in their honeymoon suite for the night
The puppy who will grow up to be France's next Diesel: Little Dobrynia is donated by Russia as a sign of solidarity to replace hero canine killed by suicide jihadi
Mark Zuckerberg will take two months of paternity leave - six weeks MORE time off than Marissa Mayer took after birth and two months less than he offers his employees
Horrific details emerge in trial of student who 'raped and murdered his teacher' as the jury is shown the stick he 'used to assault her'

Olympic Village sold to Qatari developers for £557m in deal that costs taxpayer £225m

Updated: 11:31 EST, 12 August 2011

View
comments

The London 2012 Olympic Village has been sold to a private British company and the investment arm of the Qatari ruling family in a deal that will cost the taxpayer £225m.

The property company of the Arab state's royal family and British developer Delancey have signed a £557 million-pound deal to buy and manage the athletes village as private housing after next year's Olympics.

But the latest estimates suggest that the village has already cost £1.1bn to develop. Today's sale price represents a loss of £543 however part of the money will be recouped with contingency payments.

Expensive: The Olympic Village where athletes staying during its early development last yet. The area has been sold today for £1.1bn

Property: The investment arm of the Qatari ruling family has bought the site, which will be turned into private housing after the Olympics

After the contingency payments of roughly £324m, the overall loss to the taxpayer will be roughly £219m, although this could rise beyond £225m with added costs over the next year.

The vast sum is likely to anger those who have raised questions about England hosting the games.

There will also be questions to answer over what residents will get back from the sale of the athletes village, with most of the site being turned to private housing.

London's Olympic Delivery Authority said today that Qatari Diar and Delancey will take over 1,439 of the 2,818 new homes on the site and acquire land to build as many as 2,000 more.

Iconic: The London 2012 Orbit Tower is currently being built

The deal includes a profit-share agreement, recouping the British government some of the 9.298 billion pounds ($15.13 billion) of public money that the Olympics have cost.

'This is a fantastic deal that will give taxpayers a great return and shows how we are securing a legacy from London's Games,' government sports minister Jeremy Hunt said.

'The village will be the centerpiece of a new vibrant east London community.'

The companies will rent out the homes, making the project next to the Olympic Park and its main stadium the largest of its kind in Britain.

Oil-rich Qatar, which last year won the right to host football's World Cup in 2022, already has investments in high-profile London developments including Harrods.

The department store was sold to Qatar Holdings for a reported 1.5 billion pounds (then $2.3 billion) last year.

'This is a great deal for London and shows the confidence big private investors have in the future of the city,' London Mayor Boris Johnson said.

A company called Triathlon Homes has already been appointed to manage the other 1,379 units in the village as affordable housing for key workers including teachers and health professionals.

The ODA said the new neighborhood will include education and health care facilities, parklands, public squares and open space alongside the housing.

Dreams: The view from inside the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, London, before thousands of people fill the seats next year

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said the high levels of investment in the village was good news for the capital.

'This is a great deal for London and shows the confidence big private investors have in the future of the city and the future of east London,' he said.

'It is another big step towards securing a fantastic future for the new neighbourhoods and communities we have always said would be created as a major legacy for the capital after the 2012 Games.'

Mohammed bin Ali Al Hedfa, Group chief executive of Qatari Diar said the deal would help the company build long term relationships with partners and the wider community in the UK.

'We are looking forward to working with all those involved to ensure that the Olympic Village becomes a fitting legacy to the London 2012 Olympics, and one that will benefit the local communities,' he told the Telegraph.