Offices of insurance giant set for hotel transformation

BOUTIQUE hotel chain Malmaison is planning on moving into a prime York site, formerly the home of insurance giant Aviva.

The site on Rougier Street has seen interest from Malmaison, which plan to transform the site into a 124-bed hotel.

Yorkshire Ventures’ development arm Yorkshire House Development One will be applying for planning permission for the site, which was originally planned as apartments.

The former Aviva offices used to house several hundred staff, before it announced that it would be attempting to make savings of £225m by the end of 2017.

Richard Jackson, chairman of Yorkshire Ventures, said: “We’re delighted to announce our plans to transform Yorkshire House into a stylish new city centre hotel and are thrilled that Malmaison will be the operator.

“The proposals will deliver a significant boost to the city’s economy and could create between 80 and 90 new employment opportunities once the hotel is operational, plus additional construction jobs during the conversion of the building. Significantly, the plans will also breathe new life into an important gateway site into the city centre.

“York is one of the UK’s most popular tourist destinations and there is a demand for more accommodation in the city centre. The addition of the prestigious Malmaison boutique hotel brand will only help to enhance York’s offer in this department, attracting more visitors to stay in the city centre. We will keep the public updated on the plans in due course.”

Steve Brown, the managing director of Make It York, said: “There has been massive investment in hotel stock in York in recent months and the addition of the Malmaison is another encouraging and positive development.

It is a great brand to be bringing to the city and further improves the quality of accommodation that York can offer. Tourism is tremendously important for the city, for jobs and for the economy, and this is a big boost for the sector.”