Renaissance revamp on back burner after lease extension
THE Renaissance Hotel in Manchester has extended its lease and is planning to refurbish the building, further delaying the long-awaited regeneration of the site.
The hotel and car park at the end of Deansgate were acquired by West Properties in 2007 which later submitted Ian Simpson-designed plans for 248 apartments, 61,700 sq ft retail space and a 250-bed luxury hotel.
But the scheme stalled and is now owned by the New York bank Morgan Stanley along with West’s Origin site on Whitworth Street.
Manchester City Council was keen to see a wholesale revamp of the site which backs on to the River Irwell and is a major piece of the regeneration jigsaw around the cathedral. Upmarket retailer John Lewis has been linked to the site but a spokesman for the firm would not be drawn on its plans for the city centre.
The Renaissance’s owner, Marriott, would not say how long it had signed up for but described it as an extension. It is also planning to renovate public areas, bedrooms and the exterior, but said a long-term goal would be to operate from a new building at the site.
A spokesperson said: “We are pleased that we have extended our position to manage the hotel, which is to undergo refurbishment, over the mid-term with a long term goal to continue to do so [in a new building].”
Documents filed with the Land Registry show the Renaissance is owned by Jersey-registered Deansgate Cronus which acquired the site in June for £14.7m. The Origin site was transferred to Origin Ltd, registered to the same address, on the same day for £4.5m.
Both companies are controlled by Morgan Stanley which acquired the assets when it picked up a distressed loan portfolio in March from Ireland’s “bad bank” – the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA).
West had been financed by the now defunct Anglo-Irish bank and according to reports, a portfolio of loans worth around £220m, secured against West Properties assets in Manchester and London, were sold at a 70% discount for £65m.
Morgan Stanley’s operating company at the hotel is called Deansgate Cronus Operations whose directors are Karl Badstuber, vice president hotel operations Europe at Morgan Stanley, and Peter Harned, chief financial officer of the bank’s European real estate investing business.
West Properties’ accounts for the year to March 2011, which were filed in June, show director Donal Mulryan is managing his former assets on behalf of Morgan Stanley. The bank declined to comment on its plans for both sites, while Mr Mulryan could not be reached.
