InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced the signing of two new hotels which will be built as part of the University of Manchester’s £1bn campus development.
The 210-room Crowne Plaza and the 116-room Staybridge Suites properties on Oxford Road will both operate under a franchise agreement with existing owner partner M&L Hospitality, and will be managed by Cycas Hospitality.
M&L is taking a 125-year lease on the land owned by the University of Manchester for the new-build hotel complex, which is part of of the wider redevelopment of the Manchester Business School (MBS).
IHG said that visitors to MBS and the university, along with long-stay business client, will be the hotel’s major demand drivers.
Philip Lassman, UK director of development at IHG, said: “We’re delighted to be developing more hotels with M&L Hospitality. Manchester is a key city for us and it’s great to see an appetite for our extended stay brand Staybridge Suites here.”
Professor Fiona Devine, head of MBS, said: “In our 50th anniversary year I am delighted that the development of the hotels and our new Executive Education Centre is progressing so well. Our aim is to provide high end accommodation that will have wider benefits for visitors to the University of Manchester, the city and region.”