Operator selected for Grand Hotel

The owner of Birmingham’s Grand Hotel has revealed the name of the company which will operate the newly-refurbished venue.

Hortons’ Estate said it had reached an agreement with the Principal Hotel Company to run the 180-bedroom building, which has spent the last four years being completely restored to its former glory.

Principal owns and operates 39 hotels across the UK but the Grade II listed building in Colmore Row will be its first investment in Birmingham.

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

In addition to the 180 bedrooms and suites, the hotel will include extensive conferencing and banqueting space, including the historic Grosvenor Suite, a restaurant and bar, a spa and the city’s first rooftop infinity pool.

The interior will be designed by Robert Angell Design to direction from Kemper Hyers at Starwood Capital and the in-house Principal design team.

The hotel is scheduled to open in early 2019.

The Grand was developed by the Horton Family between 1879 and 1895 and contained shops, offices and the Grand Hotel, which the family ran until 1969. The hotel was subsequently managed by a number of operators until it closed in 2002.

Since 2009 Hortons’ Estate has invested £25m in the restoration of the building resulting in the creation of ten new shops and 11,000 sq. ft of offices fronting Colmore Row, together with significant re-modelling of the interior of the former hotel.

The work has been supported by grants from Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership, Birmingham City Council and Historic England.

Tony Green, chief executive of Hortons’ Estate, said: “We have always believed that the restoration of The Grand would not be complete if it did not include a luxury hotel.  After considerable time and effort we have chosen to work with Principal on the project because they share our commitment to creating the city’s finest hotel and because of their impressive track record working on similar buildings in other major cities.”

Principal Hotel Company, which is currently embarked on a £250m investment programme, is a portfolio company of controlled affiliates of Starwood Capital Group, an American private investment firm that manages more than $51bn of assets.

Cody Bradshaw, managing director and head of European hotels at Starwood Capital Group, said: “The Grand is a magnificent building in a great location.  I have no doubt it can once again become the best hotel in the city.”

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