Manchester Hotel Sold for £8 Million

One of Manchester’s most popular hotels has been sold for more than £8m.

Harcourt Developments, who are a Dublin-based property and investment company, has purchased the Princess on Portland and are planning to upgrade it.

It is thought that Harcourt Developments will invest a massive £3m into the 85-room hotel, which will boost the property from three to four-star status. The Princess will be operated by the Folio Hotel Group, which counts the Etop Grange Hotel near Manchester Airport among the 30 sites it operates.

Managing director of Harcourt Developments Pat Power, said that they planned to turn the Princess into a luxury ‘boutique’ hotel that could rival some of Manchester’s most exclusive four and five star properties. He said: “This is a beautiful building in the heart of the city and we are planning a multi-million pound refurbishment of the entire property, creating a luxury boutique hotel which will be operated by the Folio Hotel Group.”

The Princess on Portland, so-called because it is located on the city’s Portland Street, was converted into a hotel from a former cotton mill during the 1980s. James and Catherine Alexander and Tim Rumney, their business partner, bought the hotel in November 2003 and invested £2m into developing a conference centre there, which could cater for up to 70 delegates. The conference centre, which was converted out of the hotel’s nightclub, has meeting rooms that are named after the architects who are responsible for some of Manchester’s most famous landmarks.

Mr Rumney and Mr and Mrs Alexander started to look for a suitable buyer for the Princess last year after they decided to focus their attention on their other hotel, Castle Green, which is in the Lake District and has 100 bedrooms. As Mr Rumney explains: “In order to get Princess of Portland to the next level, it would have required up to £1.5m spending on it. We also wanted to take Kendal from three to four-star status, so we had to take a look at things, examine where the company is and what was the right thing to do.”

The Princess on Portland hotel currently occupies eight floors and boasts a wide range of facilities, including a restaurant, bar and lounge. The hotel employs 50 staff and has a turnover of over £2.3m a year. The hotel caters predominantly for business visitors during the week, although it entertains plenty of leisure visitors during the weekend.

The precise amount paid by Harcourt Developments has not yet been disclosed, but it is thought to be within the region of the hotel’s asking price of £8.5m. Hotel agent Colliers Robert Barry, who arranged the sale of the hotel, said that the purchase of the Princess indicated “the tremendous growth of the city.” Spokesperson Chris Moore said: “The sale of the Princess, and indeed the plans for further investment, reflect the confidence that continues to be shown in Manchester. The tremendous growth of the city and its economy demands top quality facilities of this standard, to ensure that Manchester maintains its position as a leading European city.”

Source:

Manchester Evening News