Union Hanover gets green light for €48m Edinburgh hotel

UK investor-developer Union Hanover Securities has secured planning permission to build a £35 mln (€48 mln) Urban Villa boutique hotel in Edinburgh.

The hotel on Freer Street, in the Scottish capital's financial district, has been designed by architect Grzywinski + Pons with Edinburgh-based Michael Laird Architects.

The 180-room hotel is part of a £120 mln regeneration of the Fountainbridge district that also includes esidential, leisure and office space. The £120 mln scheme is being led by Amco Developments. Construction work is expected to start in the autumn.

Union Hanover managing director Eric Jafari said: 'This hotel is a benchmark asset for us. Edinburgh is second only to London in potential for our Urban Villa brand with its mix of corporate and leisure travel.'

Union Hanover is focusing on value-added acquisitions in undersupplied property markets in the UK, Europe and North America. Its first Urban Villa, a 100-suite property in West London, was launched in January, and the company is targeting a similar site in Aberdeen.