Global hotel operator signs up for £650m Island Quarter scheme
Conygar, the developer behind the huge £650m Island Quarter scheme in Nottingham city centre, has signed a deal to bring a hotel and serviced apartments operator to the landmark development.
Global hotel operator IHG will bring its Hotel Indigo brand to the Island Quarter, as well as its extended stay brand Staybridge Suites.
The hotel will include 223-bedrooms and suites – 155 within Hotel Indigo and a further 68 aimed at multi-night business and leisure travellers in the Staybridge Suites. The dual-branded hotel operation will be managed by IHG.
The landmark 17-storey building will house a hotel, co-working space, bars and restaurants (credit Jestico+Whiles)
They form part of the latest stage of the development, which will include a further 247 residential rental apartments and an extensive food and beverage area featuring a bar and busy 100-metre long forum for people to meet. There will also be 3,000 sq m of flexible serviced office space, with some 400 desks.
Inspired by the “neighbourhood story” of the city, Hotel Indigo will take design cues from the local area and its bar and restaurant will offer locally sourced ingredients to customers. Meanwhile, Staybridge Suites will feature a 24-hour fitness room, storage lockers for guests wishing to store items between stays and a communal “outdoor living room” complete with firepit, grilling areas and covered seating.
Richard Watson of Conygar, said: “The Island Quarter is one of the most significant city centre regeneration schemes in the UK at the moment, and it was vital that the hotel brand which we brought to the development was reflective of that. We are absolutely delighted to have agreed terms with the team at IHG to bring its Hotel Indigo and Staybridge Suites brands to Nottingham.
“This is a very important step for us as we move this development forwards and securing a hugely successful global operator in IHG shows real confidence in the flagship element of the scheme as a whole. These two brands are world-renowned as upscale and quality hotels, which really play a part in the communities in which they are based.
How a Staybridge suite will look
“The hotel forms a key element of this latest phase, which is truly cohesive, creating a range and fluidity of uses that will spread across the whole site. The Island Quarter is a development that Nottingham can be proud of and bringing brands of this calibre into the city plays an important part in that.”
Karan Khanna, managing director, UK & Ireland at IHG, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Conygar to bring the leading global brands of Hotel Indigo and Staybridge Suites to Nottingham as an important part of the regeneration of The Island Quarter. These new properties will add to IHG’s presence in the city, sitting alongside our existing Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels. As we begin 2021 these new hotel signings show the confidence that owners and investors have in IHG and our potential for continued growth for when travel can finally resume.”
A planning application for Phase 1B of the Island Quarter has been submitted to Nottingham City Council.
Councillor David Mellen, leader of Nottingham City Council, said: “The Island Quarter is a redevelopment site unlike any other in the UK right now and one we are very pleased to see Conygar make progress with. At such a difficult time, it’s great to see confidence in Nottingham reflected in this way, serving as a further reminder that Nottingham is an up-and-coming city and enhancing our programme for regenerating the Southside of the city. We therefore welcome this very significant planning application which our Planning Committee will consider in due course.”
