County Tyrone construction firm McAleer & Rushe has secured a £25 million deal to build and lease out a four star hotel in Newcastle, England.

ES Newgate, the company’s subsidiary, is set to develop the 226 bedroom, six storey property, which will become a Maldron Hotel when complete.

The scheme is the firm’s latest work with Irish hotel plc Dalata Group, and will be the first Maldron Hotel in England.

McAleer & Rushe will retain ownership of the property, which will be leased to Dalata through a 35-year contract.

The building, located on the site of the former Newgate Centre, is expected to open in the summer of 2018.

McAleer and Rushe is also set to build student accommodation as part of the same mixed used development, which is worth £100 million in total.

The firm’s property director, Stephen Surphlis, commented: “The addition of this quality hotel brand reflects the wider importance of this entire mixed-use development and will be a major asset to the city as a whole, as well as attracting business and leisure travellers to Newcastle.

“We look forward to working alongside Dalata, for whom we have previously delivered numerous projects.”

Meanwhile, McAleer & Rushe is also working on the construction of a new Maldron Hotel at Brunswick Street in the centre of Belfast.

It will be the company’s fourth hotel here. It also owns the Maldron Hotel at Belfast International Airport, the Clayton Hotel on Ormeau Avenue in the centre of the city, and the Maldron Hotel in Londonderry.

Dalata currently operates five Clayton hotels in England, with two in London, and one each in Cardiff, Leeds and Manchester. It additionally owns the Croydon Park Hotel in London.

Dermot Crowley, deputy chief executive for business development and finance at Dalata, said: “This development provides us with an exciting opportunity to launch our Maldron brand in the English market.”