UK privately held Topland Group has announced the launch of a new hotel development joint venture in partnership with services firm Marick Real Estate and developer Mill Lane Estates.
UK privately held Topland Group has announced the launch of a new hotel development joint venture in partnership with services firm Marick Real Estate and developer Mill Lane Estates.
Topland, led by Sol Zakay, is the majority equity partner in the new venture.
'We continue to see considerable value in hotels,' commented Zakay, executive chairman and CEO of Topland. 'We are in the process of assembling a pipeline of hotel development opportunities within the new joint venture with Marick, Mill Lane Estates and others. We are actively seeking further sites throughout the UK suitable for such development.'
The partners have identified their first investment opportunities with the purchase of a site in Greater Manchester. They have bought Peel Holdings' Trafford City Hotel Ltd, the owner of a 1.75-acre development site opposite the EventCity venue at the Trafford Centre.
Planning permission is in place for a new 203-bedroom hotel and work is expected to commence in early 2016. The Trafford City Hotel will be operated by Tower Hotel Management which is part of the Peel Group.
'Located opposite EventCity and very close to the Trafford Centre, this site is ideally-suited to the development of a new hotel. Discussions with a leading brand are already well-advanced. We anticipate the hotel will be the first choice for guests visiting EventCity,' said Topland structured finance manager, Edward Matthews.
The new joint venture forms part of Topland’s strategy to boost its exposure to the hotel sector. The company has committed to deploy over £200 mln of development finance, mezzanine finance and joint venture equity in the sector. It already owns hotel assets including the Royal Crescent Hotel in Bath, portfolios of both Hilton and Thistle hotels, the newly expanded Hallmark Hotel Group and the Feathers hotel portfolio.