Cancer charity Puttinu Cares has signed the deeds on a building in central London that will house patients in Malta while they are treated in hospital in the British capital. 

The €23m project will see the building converted into 23 apartments for the patients and their relatives to stay free of charge.

It has been named after the charity's co-founder and paediatric cancer specialist, Victor Calvagna, who died early in January, one week after he was hit by a car in Qawra.  

The building is a 10-minute walk away from central London and the Kings Cross and St Pancras stations. It is also close to Regent Park.

According to the charity, it will be paid for through donations, a €5 million grant from the National Development and Social fund, and a €10 million Bank of Valletta loan to cover the additional expenses and refurbish the building.

Puttinu currently has two fully-paid buildings in Sutton comprising 20 apartments.

The charity launched its appeal for the new apartments back in 2019, when it said its London accommodation was full with 60 to 90 patients traveling to the UK every month for treatment. 

The deeds of the new building were signed at the Malta High Commission in Piccadilly in the presence of Lydia Abela, the Prime Minister’s wife and Malta’s High Commissioner for the UK Manuel Mallia.