Whitbread PLC, the UK’s largest hotel business and owner of Premier Inn, has begun construction of its latest hotel development in Manchester at Rochdale Road to the north of the city centre.
GMI Construction Group, which Whitbread appointed as principal contractor to the project in July 2024, will lead the delivery of the 229-bedroom 10-storey Premier Inn. The company marked the start of construction with a ground-breaking event on-site.
Whitbread acquired the consented Rochdale Road development site from Premcor in February 2024 as part of its ongoing strategy of investing in strategic locations where its hotel brands are under-represented.
The hotel will feature Premier Inn’s very latest bedroom product, including its popular enhanced Premier Plus rooms, with a stylish integrated restaurant, bar, and reception space on the ground floor.
Will Steward, Project and Programme Manager for Whitbread, said: “Manchester is a hot spot for Whitbread’s development team as we expand our hotel network in the places we want to grow. The Rochdale Road Premier Inn will bring our very best product to the north of the Northern Quarter – an area of the city where we are not heavily represented and where we know our customers want Premier Inn to be.
“As an operating hotel business, our goal is to turn our development sites into popular hotels for our guests quickly. Since acquiring the Rochdale Road site in February, we have done an awful lot to enable the once stalled scheme to proceed including the appointment of GMI Construction as principal contractor in July.
“With building work now underway, we are on our way to having a new location for our customers to enjoy in 2026, and I’m looking forward to working with the team to deliver the significant new opening.”
Rochdale Road is the latest strategic investment by Whitbread in Manchester this calendar year. On 23rd September [2024] the company announced its intention to create the largest Premier Inn in the north of England at Manchester Airport with MIX MANCHESTER. In May, it announced the disposal of its Manchester City Centre (Deansgate Locks) hotel for redevelopment into alternative uses.
When it opens its doors, the Premier Inn hotel at Rochdale Road will be one of Whitbread’s largest hotels in Manchester and adds to a portfolio of more than 20 locations across the city.
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.”
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