Member Article

Mills & Reeve acts on £6m hotel development

Building work on a new £6m hotel in Sunderland city centre will begin in November, after solicitors from the Manchester office of Mills & Reeve advised developer GB Group. GB Group, which has an office in Stockport, is also the main contractor for the student accommodation at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Birley Fields development.

The contemporary five-storey Premier Inn will comprise 125 rooms, a restaurant, bar and meeting rooms. Mills & Reeve partner and commercial property specialist, Caroline Hanratty said: “We have been working on this project for some time now so it’s great to see the work get started.. The development will form a key gateway between the University and the city centre, creating jobs and supporting growth in Sunderland’s leisure and tourism industries.”

Brandon Riley, hotels director at GB Group, said: “This is an exciting new hotel development and another great example of GB Group’s developer contractor capability in the hotels sector. As a group we provide end to end solutions and we are now in a position to move forward into construction in Sunderland.

“Working together with the University, the City Council, Premier Inn and our funding partners this exciting new development has now become a reality.”

Phil Marsh, Director of Estates and Facilities at the University of Sunderland, said: “The University continues to be hugely supportive of this partnership development which will see further private sector investment made into the city centre, creating jobs and supporting growth.

“The hotel will provide further scope for growth in the University’s events and conference business, UniSpace. The physical design and landscaping will continue the improvements made in the connectivity between the city campus and city centre and builds on the investment made by the University over the past eight years.”

Sunderland City Council Cabinet Secretary, Councillor Mel Speding said, “It’s great to hear that work is about to start on the site. This has been a real partnership project between the university and council, as owners of the land and buildings, and GB Group, the developer.

“As well as seeing a new use for the site and the buildings, we’re getting more bedroom space for visitors who need and want to be next to the city centre and the university for their business or leisure.”

Included in the £6m development scheme will be repairs to and remodelling of the Grade II-listed former Gas Board building. Demolition of later additions to the original building will make way for the new hotel, with salvaging of structures or detailing of archaeological significance integral to the demolition. The project is due for completion by February 2015.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Mills & Reeve, Manchester .