But Lord Foster, the man behind the “gherkin” skyscraper in London, has begun demanding extra payments if clients want to claim that he has personally designed a building.

A developer has disclosed that Foster demands a premium to allow it to boast that its building is “designed by Norman Foster” rather than Foster and Partners, his multinational practice.

The potentially lucrative arrangement appears to be part of “provisions which limit the use of Lord Foster’s name and image” which the practice confirmed this weekend are inserted into contracts.

Foster, who earned £2.1m last year, polices his image rights and issued a lawyer’s letter to one client who used his name in marketing materials without agreement.

The “cash for credit” demands emerged after Foster allegedly sought an additional fee on a forthcoming housing development in Altrincham, Cheshire, for the client to use his name and image.

Nick Johnson, deputy chief executive of Urban Splash, which commissioned the development, said: “There was a stipulation in the fee agreement that we could not use ‘Norman Foster’ himself in association with the building unless we came to a separate agreement which . . . would require the payment of a further fee.

“We said ‘no thanks’ because we were quite happy with Foster and Partners and paying a normal fee. Norman Foster and Foster and Partners are to our minds interchangeable, as I think they are to the general public.”

When a press advertisement promoting a neighbouring block of apartments, also designed by Foster and Partners, claimed it was a Norman Foster design, Urban Splash received a letter of complaint from Foster’s lawyers. The row was settled after Urban Splash pointed out that Foster had appeared in a video to promote the scheme.

Foster, 71, who has also appeared in advertisements for Rolex watches, became embroiled in a high-profile dispute in 2003 when Ken Shuttleworth, his former partner, claimed that he had drawn the concept design for the “gherkin”, the Swiss Re building in the City. Shuttleworth resigned and maintains authorship of the award-winning building for which Foster takes credit.

Last week a source close to Foster’s firm confirmed that the architect did claim extra fees when his name was used on its own. The source said: “It has been included with the basic contract. He has become really aware of using his brand and image in the way David Beckham has.”

Foster’s firm said contracts restricted the use of images. “It is a recognition that the true strength of the company is in its plurality and skills,” it said.

Using Foster’s name on its own could could cost as much as £1m on a £100m development. But it appears that Foster may not demand payouts on his more prestigious works. He is credited with designing flagship stores for Asprey, the jeweller, in New York and London but it is understood that no extra fees were paid.

“Norman Foster is seeing how his brand name can increase the value of buildings and he is trying to capture that,” said Wally Olins, a brand expert. “He is saying: my name on your building will increase its value so I am going to charge you more money for it.”

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