Pension fund sells arena Travelodge

BP’s pension fund has sold the Travelodge hotel on the former Boddington’s brewery site to Orchard Street Investments for £14.2m.

The 200-bed hotel, which is on a 35-year lease, was developed in 2010 by Worthington Properties.

BP’s vehicle, Ropemaker Properties, originally acquired the site from Deansgate Securities, a joint venture between Ask Developments and Realty Estates.

Orchard Street partner Barney Rowe said: “The acquisition of this popular Travelodge asset in central Manchester enables us to benefit from exposure to inflation linked rental growth.

“This, together with the asset’s excellent location close to Manchester City Centre and adjacent to Manchester’s Phones 4U Arena, underlines our confidence in the asset’s long term reversionary potential.”

Callum Robertson, director of UK investment at Deloitte Real Estate, advised Ropemaker Properties.

He said: “As a team, we have worked with BP closely for a number of years to ensure the transaction was delivered and the income stream retained. This was traded on an ‘off market’ basis and this success is shown at a transacted level of £14.2m.”

The wider Boddington’s site was acquired by Deansgate Securities in 2006. Ask Developments sold its stake to Realty in late 2012.