UK-based hospitality company Whitbread has acquired a new development site on Rochdale Road in Manchester in the UK, as part of its plan to build a new Premier Inn hotel.
The site, which has been acquired from Premcor, has a planning permission for a 229-bedroom hotel spanning ten storeys.
This move is in line with Whitbread’s plan to reconfigure its network of hotels in Manchester.
The company intends to appoint GMI Construction Group as the contractor for the hotel's construction, which is expected to start this summer.
The new Premier Inn hotel will feature a mix of standard and enhanced Premier Plus rooms, along with an integrated restaurant, bar, and check-in area on the ground floor.
Whitbread property acquisition manager Paul Smith said: “Whitbread is a long-standing investor in Manchester with six popular Premier Inn hotels across the city centre and many more across the city region.
“In line with our perfect portfolio investment strategy, we are in the process of reconfiguring our network of hotels across central Manchester to ensure we have the right number of bedrooms in the right parts of the city centre for our guests.
“Our investment in the Rochdale Road development site brings another 229-bedrooms into our secured development pipeline in a part of the city centre we wish to expand our presence. The location ticks all the boxes for our guests and with Whitbread’s direct involvement in the scheme, we can guarantee the development will now proceed at pace.”
The company’s recent development activity in Manchester has been to the south and west of the city centre.
In 2021, it opened a 157-bedroom Premier Inn hotel at Princess Street, leading to the redevelopment of its Manchester City Centre (Deansgate Locks) hotel.
Planning approval was received for the Deansgate Locks location to develop student accommodation project for over 1,000 students and a 13-storey office building. Currently, demolition of the erstwhile hotel is underway.
In January, 2024, the company opened a new Premier Inn in Cork City Centre. It is the first Premier Inn hotel outside of Dublin. The Cork location offers 187 bedrooms and is situated at a historic site on Morrison’s Quay, overlooking the River Lee.
