M&L Hospitality has taken a 125-year lease on land owned by The University of Manchester for a 326-key, new-build hotel complex. The 212-room Crowne Plaza hotel and the 116-room Staybridge Suites property will both operate under a franchise agreement with IHG. The Crowne Plaza Manchester is located in the heart of the city’s vibrant university sector, which is well serviced by public transport and features a number of shopping and dining strips nearby. The properties are due to open in 2018.

The strategic choice of combining the two IHG-branded hotels in one area is intended to cater to a wide range of guests’ needs. The Crowne Plaza Manchester caters to the UK’s ever-growing demand for extended-stay accommodation; whilst the Staybridge Suites is designed to be the choice of short-stay corporate and leisure guests.

The development forms part of the University’s £1 billion Campus, which will create some of the most modern campus facilities in the world. The two hotels will be developed on the main University campus, adjacent to Manchester Business School (MBS) and within close proximity to Manchester city centre. Visitors to MBS and the University, along with long-stay corporate business clients, will be the hotels’ major demand drivers.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts has been a recognised and reputable meetings hotel brand for the last 30 years offering guests relevant and effective solutions through its signature meetings programme.