North of England’s largest Premier Inn set to land at MIX MANCHESTER
Whitbread PLC, the parent company to Premier Inn, and MIX MANCHESTER have announced plans to develop the largest Premier Inn in the north of England at Manchester Airport.
The new 276-bedroom hotel will grow Premier Inn’s bedroom stock by more than 50% in the catchment serving the UK’s third busiest airport, and a gateway to over 200 domestic and international destinations.
The new hotel which Premier Inn will occupy on a leasehold basis will offer a mixture of Premier Inn’s latest style bedrooms, including its popular Premier Plus rooms, and the brand’s stylish ‘The Social’ space on the ground floor.
Whitbread has been investing heavily in Manchester as the company works to realign and grow its network of hotels in the city for its customers. 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.
The company’s confidence in the city is being driven by a refreshed network plan for Manchester and its underlying belief in the long-term potential for 125,000 Premier Inn bedrooms in the UK – an increase of 40,000 bedrooms on its current trading estate of 85,500 rooms.
Jill Anderson, Acquisition Manager for 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. Securing what will become the largest Premier Inn in the north of England is a significant moment for Whitbread and one which we are proud to have delivered. With passenger numbers growing strongly at the airport I’m sure it will be a popular choice for our customers when we open the doors and start welcoming our guests.”
A planning application for the new hotel is expected to be submitted to Manchester City Council this side of Christmas which, if approved, will allow construction to commence in early 2025. The hotel will be built on a cleared site adjacent to Manchester Airport’s transport interchange less than 400 metres from Terminal 1 and 2.
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.
Gareth Jackson, Group Property Director at Manchester Airports Group, commented:
“Whitbread’s decision to open a Premier Inn of this size at MIX MANCHESTER is further endorsement of the complementary offer we’re 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’re attracting to MIX MANCHESTER with a range of additional leisure amenities.”
Whitbread currently operates three Premier Inn hotels serving Manchester Airport, the newest of which opened in 2009, and welcomes hundreds of thousands of guests to its 20+ locations across the city every year.
Notes to editors
Premier Inn Manchester City Centre (Portland Street) is the largest Premier Inn currently trading in the north of England offering 233 guest bedrooms.
29.6 million passengers used Manchester Airport in the previous twelve months (as of 12th August) with the Airport clocking up ten consecutive months of record-breaking passenger numbers.
The Premier Inn at Rochdale Road to the north of Manchester City Centre is anticipated to open in 2026.
