Property round-up: Laterooms takes more space at The Peninsula; and more
The LateRooms Group is to expand onto the fourth floor of Rainy City Investments’ The Peninsula building on Cheetham Hill Road.
Managing director Andrew Pumphrey said the firm needed toe extra space to accommodate growth.
“We moved into the offices in November 2010 but found that, with our international expansion building momentum and the ever-growing technological advances required, our staffing and space requirements have increased accordingly,” said Pumphrey.
Rainy City Investments is owned by entrepreneurs Fred and Peter Done. Laterooms is owned by travel giant TUI.
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Crewe’s Queens Park is set for a grand reopening on September 10 following a £6.5m restoration programme which has seen large areas of the facility closed off since May 2006.
Councillor Rod Menlove, Cabinet member with responsibility for environmental services, said: “This is a momentous occasion for Queens Park as well as the local community, who have been looking forward to this unveiling for some time. Queens Park is a fantastic recreational facility for the local community.”
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SMITH & Smith PR has moved to Hale in Cheshire from the Express Networks in Manchester City Centre.
It has agreed a new five-year lease on 1,041 sq ft of refurbished offices on the first floor of Victoria House – above the Pan-American lounge in the centre of Hale village.
Nathan Smith of Smith & Smith PR said: “This is a really welcome move for us into 
larger premises to accommodate our expanding team. Hale is the ideal location as it reduces quite considerably the travel time for our staff, which is in line with our environmental policy and our ethos around work-life balance.”
Daniel Lee of Regional Property Solutions, which advised on the letting, said: “This is the second significant letting in Hale village in as many weeks demonstrating that there is demand for top quality space.”
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The former Burlington’s pub at Garstang Road in Broughton, near Preston, is to be reopened next week following a £600,000 refurbishment by its new owners.
The pub will now be known as The Broughton Inn and will operate under new owner Mitchells & Butlers’ upmarket Vintage Inns country pubs brand.
The exterior has been repainted and new signage added while inside original features such as old beams and open fireplaces have been restored.
New landlady Valerie Dobson said: “At The Broughton Inn we’ll be offering a premium eating-out experience in a traditional pub environment. Our aim is to be the perfect country pub, whether customers are popping in for a relaxing pint of real ale, or enjoying a candlelit dinner.”
The pub has a dining room with 146 covers and an external patio area which can accommodate a further 36 diners.
Claire Maynard, regional business manager for Vintage Inns, adds: “This is a serious commitment by Mitchells & Butlers, and our renovations and future plans will put The Broughton Inn firmly on the Lancashire dining map.”
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PHAGENESIS has taken on extra space at Manchester Science Park’s corridor site.
The company, which was spun out from the University of Manchester, has recently raised £2m in funding from investors towards the development of a device that delivers electrical pulses to the throat that can “awaken” the brain to help restore the swallowing function in stroke victims.
As a result, the business has grown from two to six staff members and moved from a small office in msp’s MedTECH Centre to a 1,428 sq ft office in Enterprise House.
Daniel Green, CEO at Phagenesis said: “Our rapid growth and continued support from investors is testament to the quality of the research behind this device and the high calibre team we have in place.
“Being unable to swallow safely is a life-threatening condition. Our technology is the first to have been proven to work in well-controlled clinical trials, and we are now planning product launches.”
