MIX Manchester seals deal for largest Premier Inn in the North

MIX Manchester has signed Premier Inn to operate a 276-bedroom hotel within 400m of Manchester Airport’s terminals. Last month, the developer has launched a consultation on the £1bn proposals for MIX Manchester, the UK’s first airport-based science, innovation and manufacturing campus. Premier Inn owner Whitbread and MIX Manchester, the joint venture partnership between clients of Columbia Threadneedle Real Estate Partners, Manchester Airports Group, Beijing Construction Engineering Group International and Greater Manchester Pension Fund, have agreed the leasehold terms of plans to develop the largest Premier Inn in the North of England. The hotel will offer Premier Inn’s latest style of bedrooms, including Premier Plus rooms, and The Social space on the ground floor. A planning application for the Allison Pike-designed hotel is expected to be submitted to Manchester City Council before Christmas and, if approved, construction will commence in early 2025. Jill Anderson, acquisition manager at Whitbread, said: “We are serious about continuing to grow Premier Inn across the North of England and offer the flexibility, security and development expertise to acquire large hotel sites as we have done at Manchester Airport.  “With passenger numbers growing strongly at the airport, I am sure it will be a popular choice for our customers when we open the doors and start welcoming our guests.” Gareth Jackson, group property director at Manchester Airports Group, said: “Whitbread’s decision to open a Premier Inn of this size at MIX Manchester is further endorsement of the complementary offer we are creating here alongside the airport’s extensive transformation programme. It also demonstrates our continued ability to satisfy the growing demand for hotel beds at the airport, as well as providing science, innovation and manufacturing occupiers we are attracting to MIX Manchester with a range of additional leisure amenities.” Whitbread has been investing heavily in Manchester as the company works to realign and grow its network of hotels in the city. So far this year, the company has acquired a consented freehold development site on Rochdale Road for a new 229-bedroom Premier Inn and disposed of its Deansgate Locks hotel for redevelopment into alternative uses. Manchester Airports Group is well into the final stage of its £1.3bn transformation programme at the airport. The company has undertaken an extension of T2, completed in 2021, and further upgrade and infrastructure works are due to be completed by 2025. Turley is advising on planning. Image © Allison Pike