Principal to launch hotel in Birmingham in partnership with Hortons' Estate

Principal Hotel Company (PHC) intends to create "the finest hotel" in Birmingham after signing a partnership with family-owned property company Hortons' Estate, owner of the Grand hotel in the city centre.

 

Set to open in early 2019, the 180-bedroom luxury hotel is the latest development to be announced by PHC, which is owned by US-private investment company Starwood Capital Group, in its creation of Principal, its urban lifestyle hotel brand.

 

The company already has three hotels open in Manchester, York and Edinburgh, and will launch its flagship 330-bedroom Principal London on Russell Square in the summer, following a £75m restoration. Further openings are planned for Glasgow, Cardiff, Liverpool, Leeds and Oxford later this year and next year, involving a £250m investment programme (including the London hotel).

 

The Birmingham hotel, located within a Grade II* Victorian building, will feature a restaurant, bar, extensive conference and banquet spaces, a spa and a rooftop infinity pool. Interiors will be designed by Robert Angell Design under the direction of Starwood Capital's head of design, Kemper Hyers.

 

The Grand was originally developed by the Horton family between 1879 and 1895 and was run by them as a hotel until 1969. It was then managed by a number of operators until it closed in 2002.

 

Cody Bradshaw, managing director and head of European hotels at Starwood Capital Group, described the Grand as "a magnificent building in a great location" and added: "We have no doubt that it can once again become the finest hotel in the city.

 

"By adding Birmingham to our portfolio of Principal hotels, we further strengthen what we believe is already the finest collection of UK hotels ever to be assembled in a single portfolio."

 

Tony Green, chief executive of Hortons' Estate, said: "We have always believed that the restoration of the Grand would not be complete if it did not include a luxury hotel. After considerable time and effort, we have chosen to work with Principal on the project because they share our commitment to creating the city's finest hotel and because of their impressive track record working on similar buildings in other major cities."

 

Since 2009, Hortons' Estate has invested £25m in the restoration of the Grand, which has involved the creation of 10 new shops and 1,000sqm of office space, alongside the re-modelling of the interior of the hotel.

 

PHC is the owner and operator of 39 UK hotels, which are split between the city centre Principal brand and De Vere, a collection of country estate hotels offering a mix of leisure and conference facilities.

 

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