MONTH IN REVIEW
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HOTEL OPENINGS
Hotel Indigo
Manchester
Victoria Station
opens after £30m
project
Hotel Indigo Manchester – Victoria
Station is preparing to open its doors
following the completion of the £30m
project and hand-over of the site to
the hotel group Intercontinental Hotels
Group (IHG). Positioned at the gateway
of the Northern Quarter, near Victoria
Station, the 187-room boutique hotel
offers guests luxurious city centre
accommodation. Designed by local
architects, 3DReid, the building aligns
the historic architecture of the Grade II
listed City Buildings with a stunning 14
story rotunda tower.
The property also features the
Mamucium Restaurant and Bar, which
will be situated on the ground floor of
the hotel, a 120-seat restaurant and
bar run by double AA-rosette chef
Andrew Green.
The completion of the project marks
a major milestone for the developer BH
Group. The £30m project has taken two
years to complete and at its peak had
160 people working on it. In addition to
the investment the project has created
more than 80 jobs in the running of the
hotel and restaurant.
James Houlston, managing director
of BH Group said: “We are delighted
with the outcome of this project, 3D
Reid has created a truly iconic building
which, with its pivotal location at the
gateway to the NOMA project, will
become a recognised landmark for the
city centre.
“The contractor, Bowmer and
Kirkland has done a great job. We
took on a complex project with a
number of challenges and they have
demonstrated their expertise and
professionalism with the delivery of a
fabulous building, hats off to them.”
December 2018
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ACQUISITIONS TOURISM
AccorHotels has announced its
intention to launch a Tender Offer for the
acquisition acquisition of Polish hotel
group Orbis worth €442m (£391.9m).
AccorHotels said it has filed with the
Polish Financial Supervision Authority a
notification concerning the intention to
launch a Tender Offer together with a
tender offer circular for the acquisition
in cash for the 21,800,593 shares of
Orbis it does not currently representing
47.31% of the share capital.
Orbis, which is headquartered in
Warsaw, Poland, is the largest hotel
operator in Central & Eastern Europe
and the exclusive franchisee of certain
AccorHotels brands in the region.
Its portfolio comprises of 128 hotels
(21,000 rooms) in 16 countries.
Sebastien Bazin, chairman and CEO of
AccorHotels said: “AccorHotels and Orbis
have built a long-term partnership since
their first business agreement 45 years
ago. As its largest shareholder since
2000, AccorHotels has fully supported
Orbis’ growth in Poland, then across
Central Europe since 2014, where Orbis
has become today a formidable leader”. The UK government has signalled its
intention to deliver a “landmark sector
deal” for the UK tourism industry to
attract more domestic and overseas
visitors, helping to drive “major
economic growth”.
Speaking to the Tourism Industry
Council, made up of leading
members of the tourism industry
and government, the secretary of
state for digital, culture, media and
sport Jeremy Wright confirmed the
government will begin negotiations
with the sector on an “ambitious”
Industrial Strategy sector deal that will
“benefit the whole country”.
The sector has been asked to look at
the key themes of:
n Making tourism and hospitality a
career for life
n Making the UK the most accessible
tourism industry in the world
n Sharing industry data to identify
growth opportunities in new and
emerging markets
n Increasing accommodation capacity
UKHospitality CEO Kate Nicholls
said: “we are delighted that a sector
deal has been agreed in principle”,
and added that securing a sector
deal for hospitality has been a
priority for UKHospitality and the
group has “worked very hard to
achieve it”.
Nicholls said: “A supportive sector
deal will provide us with incredibly
useful support to enhance the skills
and training that hospitality already
provides. As a sector, we are a
fantastic employer and proud of
the work we do to develop young
employees, but a sector deal will
enable us to achieve even more”.
Accor Hotels
announces Orbis
tender offer and
confirms business
targets
QUOTE OF
THE MONTH
“There has been a very
noticeable shift in investor focus
towards the luxury end of the
hotel market, as overseas ultra
high net worth individuals seek
to capitalise on London’s ability
to attract affluent visitors.”
That’s what Adam Chamberlain, partner at
Boodle Hatfield, said about investors in the
hotel sector targeting more affluent tourists,
driving a rise in the number of luxury hotels
openings and upgrades in the UK
Tourism sector
deal a ‘cause
for celebration’
for hospitality
industry
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