Legal battle over Holiday Inn resolved

An agreement has been reached in a long-running legal battle over payment for Wellington's $150 million Holiday Inn.

For some months, developer Nigel McKenna's Melview Featherston and Fletcher Construction have been fighting over money for the hotel which Fletcher built for McKenna.

The hotel opened two years ago.

Various court dates have been set and then adjourned. The case was settled in the last few days.

At issue was a disagreement over the bill for the hotel's construction.

Julian Miles QC represented McKenna and Graeme Christie of Simpson Grierson acted for Fletcher.

Last year, Fletcher issued a statutory demand over payment for sums which McKenna disputed. McKenna issued a counter-claim against Fletcher.

Christie told the court in December that Melview had not paid money which was owed.

In 2002, McKenna and his company, Melview, signed a deal with Six Continents Hotels to operate the

Holiday Inn as a four-star hotel as part of the $150 million Featherston Street project.

In 2007, the 280-room hotel opened offering accommodation from $175 for a double room.

Meanwhile, development of a Holiday Inn was discussed in Auckland last year.

Albany City Property Investments said it had bagged Holiday Inn as operator for a new international hotel it said it would build at Albany.

Albany City general manager Gary Noland said his company would build the hotel in two stages: 150 rooms then the remaining 80 rooms. He hoped resource consent would be granted soon and said last year that work was imminent.