Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has settled a £34 million dispute over the unused Ravenscourt Park Hospital building, highlighting ongoing financial and infrastructure challenges amid plans to transform the site into residential housing as hospital redevelopment faces significant delays.
The Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, which operates five hospitals across west London including Charing Cross, Hammersmith, and St Mary’s, has reportedly paid up to £34 million to settle a protracted dispute with an asset management company over an unused hospital building. This comes amidst mounting financial pressures on the trust, which is also facing delays in crucial hospital redevelopment plans.
The dispute centres on the former Ravenscourt Park Hospital, a Grade II-listed Art Deco building originally opened as the Royal Masonic Hospital in 1933. The hospital ceased operations in 2006 due to financial difficulties and low patient numbers, with services transferred to other local hospitals within the trust, including Charing Cross and St Mary’s. Despite its closure, the NHS Trust remained responsible for leasing and maintaining the building, incurring substantial costs estimated at up to £5 million annually, which included maintenance, security, and rent payments until the lease expired in 2017.
In 2002, the trust’s predecessor committed to a 15-year lease for the building intended to house NHS services, which ultimately never materialised. Later, in 2015, plans were announced by VPS Healthcare, an Abu Dhabi-based company, to reopen the site as a private cancer hospital featuring advanced treatments such as proton beam therapy. However, the project stalled and the company was dissolved in 2018, leaving the trust with a £15 million debt.
Following the lease’s expiry, the trust faced liabilities related to the building’s dilapidation. There was a significant disagreement over the cost of repairs, with the former owner initially claiming up to £50 million, while the trust estimated its liability at around £20 million. Ownership of the debt eventually passed to ICG-Longbow, an asset management firm based in Guernsey, with whom the trust has now reached a final settlement, though the exact amount remains confidential due to commercial sensitivity.
The settlement amount, despite remaining undisclosed officially, is understood to be more than double the £19.4 million government funding the trust secured in 2024 to support rebuilding efforts at St Mary’s Hospital — a major acute trauma centre and world-renowned teaching hospital. This funding is earmarked for detailed design and planning work on the new hospital building, which itself has faced delays announced by the Health Secretary, pushing back the hospital’s redevelopment within the trust’s estates programme by at least ten years.
The Trust’s 2024/25 annual report reflects a significant reduction in provisions for liabilities related to leased property disputes, underscoring the impact of the Ravenscourt Park settlement. While the released report states that the reduction in provisions is not fully attributable to this case alone, it represents a substantial financial adjustment. The Trust’s leadership emphasised their confidence in having secured the best possible outcome for both the organisation and the NHS with legal and professional advice guiding their negotiations.
Meanwhile, the Ravenscourt Park Hospital site is now being transformed into residential housing and a care home. Planning permission was granted in August 2025 for 140 new homes and a 65-bed care home on the 1.56-hectare site, with developers committed to preserving the building’s distinctive Art Deco architecture and integrating community spaces into the scheme. The site’s redevelopment is seen as a positive step towards converting a once-vacant and costly asset into productive use.
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, created in 2007 from the merger of Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust and St Mary’s NHS Trust, is one of England’s largest healthcare providers, integrating clinical services with academic research in partnership with Imperial College London. The trust’s financial strains and building maintenance challenges exemplify the difficulties faced by NHS organisations seeking to maintain and modernise ageing infrastructure while managing complex legacy issues from past property arrangements.
The magnitude of funds allocated to settle this longstanding property dispute highlights the broader issues of NHS estate management, funding constraints, and the balancing act of investing in future hospital infrastructure amid ongoing operational demands.
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Source: Noah Wire Services
Noah Fact Check Pro
The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.
Freshness check
Score:
8
Notes:
The narrative was published on 7 October 2025. The earliest known publication date of substantially similar content is 25 November 2021, when bidding closed for the Ravenscourt Park Hospital site. The Chiswick Calendar’s report includes updated data, such as the £34 million settlement and the redevelopment plans for the site, indicating a higher freshness score. However, the core information about the dispute and the hospital’s closure has been previously reported, suggesting some recycled content. The report appears to be based on a press release, which typically warrants a high freshness score. No significant discrepancies in figures, dates, or quotes were found. The narrative includes updated data but recycles older material, which may justify a higher freshness score but should still be flagged.
Quotes check
Score:
9
Notes:
The report includes direct quotes from the Health Service Journal (HSJ) and other sources. The earliest known usage of these quotes is from the HSJ’s reporting on the settlement. No identical quotes appear in earlier material, suggesting the quotes are original to this report. The wording of the quotes matches the sources, with no significant variations.
Source reliability
Score:
7
Notes:
The narrative originates from The Chiswick Calendar, a local news outlet. While it provides detailed information, its reputation and reach are limited compared to larger, more established media organisations. The report cites the Health Service Journal (HSJ), a reputable source, enhancing the reliability of the information. However, the reliance on a single, less widely known outlet for the primary reporting introduces some uncertainty.
Plausability check
Score:
8
Notes:
The claims about the £34 million settlement and the redevelopment of the Ravenscourt Park Hospital site are plausible and align with known facts. The narrative provides supporting details from reputable sources, such as the HSJ and the Trust’s annual report. The language and tone are consistent with typical reporting on such matters. No inconsistencies or suspicious elements were identified.
Overall assessment
Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS
Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): MEDIUM
Summary:
The narrative provides a detailed account of the Imperial College Healthcare Trust’s settlement over the Ravenscourt Park Hospital dispute, incorporating updated data and direct quotes from reputable sources. While the freshness score is slightly reduced due to recycled content, the inclusion of new information and quotes from the HSJ enhances its credibility. The reliance on a less widely known source introduces some uncertainty, but the overall plausibility of the claims supports a passing assessment.
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