Singapore investor signs deal for Manchester University hotel
SINGAPORE-based investment group M&L Hospitality has agreed a 125-year lease with the University of Manchester to build a 19-storey hotel as part of its £1bn campus masterplan.
Built next to Manchester Business School, the 326-bed hotel will comprise of 16 storeys of rooms above three levels of hotel facilities, including a restaurant, bar, conference facilities and gym. It will be the only hotel on the main University of Manchester campus.
The new investment is M&L Hospitality’s first in Manchester. It acquired two hotels in London in 2012 and also assets in Singapore, Australia, Japan and New Zealand.
Neil Maxwell, CEO of M&L Hospitality, said: “We are always exploring investment opportunities that have the potential to deliver stable and attractive returns. The UK hotel market continues to achieve solid performance and we are excited about the growth of internationally branded hotels here.
“The new hotel complex will be a valuable campus amenity for Manchester Business School, the University and nearby facilities such as the Manchester Science Park, the Central Manchester University Hospitals and the many cultural assets and arts venue along the Manchester Corridor. We are looking forward to the start of construction and the launch of our next project in the UK.”
Manchester-based Bruntwood will develop the hotel on behalf of M&L Hospitality. Cycas Hospitality, which is M&L’s operator for their Stratford City hotels in London, will manage the property.
A spokeswoman for M&L could not confirm the operator of the new hotel. Last year Manchester council approved plans for the 19-storey hotel at the site. At that stage it was to be operated by InterContinental Hotels Group under its Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites brands.
