One horse race for 1m sq ft Olympic media centre

And then there was one...

The UK Fashion Hub has today withdrawn its bid to be the legacy tenant of the 1m sq ft Olympic media centre at the 11th hour.

The London Legacy Development Corporation was due to meet on Tuesday to discuss who it would like to choose as its preferred tenant.

News that iCITY is being recommended as that preferred tenant ahead of the meeting next week appears to have been the straw that broke the camel's back.

The UK Fashion Hub said in a statement today: "Press coverage over the past two days has reported leaks that suggest a decision has already been taken to appoint iCITY as the preferred bidder, despite the LLDC board meeting scheduled for the 17th July to make that decision.

"This, and other issues, have compounded the unease felt by the UKFH team that the process has not been as transparent as it should be and therefore the decision has been taken to withdraw."

In January three parties were shortlisted to be the legacy tenant on a 125-year lease - UK Fashion Hub, iCITY and Oxylane Group.

Oxylane withdrew from the running in April and with the UK Fashion Hub now out of the running it is a clear home straight for iCITY.

The iCITY bid is a strong one. The plan to create a tech-style hub has strong political backing as it chimes well with prime minister David Cameron's vision for a tech city stretching from Shoreditch to the Olympic Park.

However, questions will obviously need to be asked as to why the other parties have now both pulled out.

It is possible that the LLDC will delay a decision until after the Olympics as they explore if there are any other options open to them or whether the Games can bring about some renewed interest in the site.

And new LLDC chairman Daniel Moylan has also requested to see the costs involved in demolishing the building - perhaps that may become the favoured option.

What can we expect from next week's board meeting?

Expect the unexpected...