Construction of 229-bedroom Premier Inn on Rochdale Road to the north of the Northern Quarter is anticipated to commence in Sept 2024

Whitbread PLC, the UK’s largest hotel business and owner of Premier Inn, has appointed GMI Construction Group as principal contractor for its latest development in Manchester City Centre.

GMI will lead the construction of Whitbread’s development site on Rochdale Road on the edge of Manchester’s Northern Quarter.  The location has planning permission for a 229-bedroom Premier Inn hotel set over ten storeys with an integrated restaurant, bar, and check-in area on the ground floor.

Whitbread acquired the site from Premcor in February 2024 as part of the company’s ongoing strategy of investing in strategic locations across Manchester.  The company intends to bring its very latest bedroom product to the Rochdale Road hotel including its popular Premier Plus rooms.

Will Steward, Project and Programme Manager for Whitbread, said: “Whitbread acquired the Rochdale Road development site in February 2024 with the premise of bringing about a speedy transformation of the location into a latest format Premier Inn hotel.  Appointing GMI as principal contractor continues this positive momentum, and we hope to break ground and start building our latest Manchester hotel this autumn.”

Rochdale Road is the latest investment by Whitbread in Central Manchester in recent years. In May 2021 the company opened a 157-bedroom Premier Inn at Princess Street to the south of the city centre.  The opening paved the way for the redevelopment of the Premier Inn Manchester City Centre (Deansgate Locks) hotel a short distance away which served the same catchment. 

The Deansgate Locks location was subsequently sold to Student Roost for redevelopment into a purpose-built student accommodation development of more than 1,000 student beds in July 2024.

Anthony Judge, Regional director for GMI Construction, said: “Following on from GMI and Whitbread’s collaboration in delivery of the nationally recognised and impressive Premier Inn development in Keswick, its brilliant to see our partnership go from strength to strength.

“This latest development in the iconic Northern Quarter of Manchester will be a striking new addition to the skyline with its remarkable brickwork façade. We are delighted to be a part of this major project and greatly look forward to progressing with this scheme.”

On opening, the Premier Inn at Rochdale Road will be Whitbread’s seventh hotel in central Manchester and one of its largest in the city. As it continues to expand, the business is currently focused on fulfilling its network target to the east of the city and at Manchester Airport.

Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals