Hotels boss Arora battens down the hatches
HOTELS entreprenuer Surinder Arora has ruled out any further investment in the North West for at least two years, but says the region is “on his radar”.
Speaking to TheBusinessDesk.com at the sixth Annual Hotel Conference organised by law firm Halliwells, Mr Arora praised Manchester as “streets ahead” of other regional cities as a location for investment.
But he said he was relieved that a deal to redevelop the landmark 24-acre ITV site on Quay Street in Manchester had fallen down, because of what has since happened to the property market.
“Manchester is vibrant and Liverpool is vibrant, but I think for the next 12 to 24 months we’ll be focused on consolidating what we have already got, particularly in the South East.
“I’ve always said we want to be in the major cities like Liverpool and Leeds but at the moment there’s not enough certainty in the market place. Hopefully this is starting to move in the right direction.”
He said he was satisfied with the performance of his Manchester hotel, on Princess Street, but “I always want us to do better”, before speaking in glowing terms of how Manchester is a “great location” for business.
“Wherever I go, and this is genuine, I tell other cities to look to Manchester and Sir Howard Bernstein as the model. When ever I speak to council chief executives I say that Manchester is by far and away the top city.”
In his address to the conference at Manchester’s Hilton Hotel, he slammed “reckless lending” by a minority of bonus hungry bankers for the credit crunch and the subsequent recession.
He said he was concerned about over-supply both in London and the regions because it had become “fashionable” to enter the trade.
“One year it’s care homes, the next hotels. In the 1980s it was golf courses. I am concerned that people who entered the market right at its peak are going to get their fingers burned.”
