Whitbread buys Widnes Waterfront site

DEVELOPER St Modwen has completed a sale on the latest phase of its £10m Widnes waterfront scheme, The Hive.

The firm has sold a 1.47-acre site to Whitbread, which will build a 60-bed Premier Inn hotel  and a 7,500 sq ft Brewers Fayre restaurant.
It has paid £975,000 for the site.

St Modwen is developing The Hive in partnership with Halton Borough Council. The scheme is on track to open in October 2011 and is 95 per cent pre-let, with just one remaining restaurant unit under offer.

Tenants already signed up include a 36,000 sq ft ice rink operated by Planet Ice, a Reel Cinemas multiplex,  a Frankie and Benny’s restaurant and Widnes Superbowl.

Michelle Taylor, regional director at St. Modwen, said: “This sale is yet another vote of confidence from a quality operator, in a scheme which has been highly successful to date.

“The Hive will deliver new leisure facilities for the residents of Halton and, through the Ice Rink, is set to draw in trade from the surrounding region.”