Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Hotels is in advanced talks to open its first UK hotel in Manchester.
The brand, which launched in Chicago in January 2015, has been scouring London for potential sites but does not yet have any operations in the UK.
Virgin is closing in on a 320-bedroom hotel development opportunity at Royal London Asset Management and Property Alliance Group’s 3 St Peter’s Square in Manchester’s central business district.
PAG was appointed in October 2015 as development partner for the site, comprising a vacant 1970s office building between 55 Portland Street and 3 St Peter’s Square.
Plans had been approved for a 105,000 sq ft office redevelopment when the building was previously owned by Co-operative Insurance and asset managed by AXA Real Estate. However, new plans are set to transform the building into a hotel with 87 flats.
The hotel concept promises “beautiful, comfortable, fun hotels” which are fused with the “local landscape” and “gentle” on the wallet.
Virgin Hotels Chicago has a social club where guests can dine, drink, work and join the nightly social hour. The 26-storey Art Deco building also has a 1920s oak cigar bar at the front desk and the original mail chute serving all floors. Rates range from around £90 to £130 per night. The group plans to open a second hotel in Nashville in autumn 2016 and have 20 hotels open by 2025.
The deal would be a coup for Manchester’s booming hotels sector, which was rated the number one regional UK hotels market by Colliers International earlier this year based on key performance indicators such as low vacancy rates and a strong development pipeline.
A Virgin Hotels spokesman said: “We are currently looking at a range of cities as part of our expansion plan in Europe. At this stage we have not confirmed a location, further details will be released in due course.”
Colliers is advising PAG and Royal London.
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