Court asked to cancel ‘vitiated’ Evans Building concession

The Court of Appeal has been formally requested to annul the controversial process granting a 65-year concession of the historic Evans Building in Valletta, following fresh allegations of irregular and “extraordinary manoeuvres” by the government to favour a preferred bidder.

The legal challenge was filed by the European School of English, part of the Iconic Hotels Malta-Nobu consortium, made up of European School of English Ltd (which the Bianchi family has invested in) and Arrigo Group of Hotels Ltd. 

The appellants are not only contesting their own disqualification but also seeking to have the court scrap the entire concession process, arguing that it has been fundamentally compromised.

At the centre of the case are serious claims that the process was manipulated by the Labour government to benefit Plan Group, a development company owned by Paul Attard.

The company, previously known as Katari, is in line to be awarded the concession to transform the Evans Building into a five-star luxury hotel.

According to court filings, Plan Group allegedly altered key financial documents just one day before the revised submission deadline, which the government unexpectedly extended at the eleventh hour. The appellants argue that this last-minute change enabled the Plan Group to meet eligibility criteria it would otherwise have failed to satisfy.

Describing the situation in stark terms, lawyers Christian Farrugia and Adrian Delia for the appellants accused both Plan Group and government authorities of engaging in “extraordinary manoeuvres” designed to give the developer an unfair advantage over competing bidders.

Plan Group has strongly denied the claims, insisting that it neither requested an extension of the submissions deadline nor amended its financial data following any tip-off from the government or the OPM.

Speaking to The Shift, Attard acknowledged that amendments to financial statements had been made, but said they were permissible by law. He told The Shift, “All amendments were accepted and registered by the Malta Business Registry, the competent authority responsible for the scrutiny and registration of company financial statements.”

He added that the author of the audit report confirmed under oath that no numerical errors were identified and that the substance of the financial data used by Katari was not questioned.

Evidence presented in court indicates that Attard revised crucial financial information in April 2023, after the original deadline of 3 March 2023 had been extended, which Attard denies. He insists his submission was submitted before the deadline.

In a recent ruling, the Public Contracts Review Board disqualified two competing bids, Valletta Luxury Projects and the Iconic Hotels Malta–Nobu consortium, but stopped short of cancelling the process.

Instead, it ordered a fresh evaluation by a newly appointed board. That decision is now expected to be challenged before the Court of Appeal, which has the final say.