Work starts on £60m Manchester hotel

Construction of a £60m Manchester hotel is underway.Located at 55 Portland Street, the 17-storey, 329-bed venue is being brought forward by Property Alliance Group with Aviva Investors acquiring the pre-let investment. It will replace a 50-year-old office block on the corner of Sackville Street, which has now been fully demolished.The facility will be operated by Dalata Hotel Group under its four-star Clayton Hotel brand and will create about 140 jobs. It will also include a ground-floor bar with a restaurant at mezzanine level, as well as a business centre with meeting rooms.Russells Construction – the main contractor for the scheme – will commence piling this month. This will be followed by creating the in-situ frame to form the first three floors before installation of the pre-cast concrete for the 17-storey shell.A tower crane will be erected within the footprint around which the building will be constructedIt will be Russells Construction’s third concurrent hotel-build in central Manchester, alongside the Circle Square venue on Princess Street and the Motel One/StayCity Apartments hybrid at 3 St Peters.A team from Kuits provided legal and commercial advice to Property Alliance Group on the funding agreement, led by partner and head of development Adam Hymes.