Plans for 225-room hotel in Birmingham city centre revealed

A deal has been agreed for a new 225-bedroom hotel to open at a gateway site in Birmingham city centre.Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn, has agreed a 25-year lease with Nikal for the hotel which will also include a 6,000 sq ft Bar + Block Steakhouse Restaurant as part of the second phase of the Exchange Square project.Exchange Square is a significant new residential and lifestyle destination located between the Eastside and Colmore Business District and immediately opposite Curzon Street Station, the new home for HS2 when it arrives in Birmingham in 2026.Exchange Square is being delivered in two phases. Premier Inn will occupy a new 13-storey building on a new public square proposed as part of a revised planning application for Phase Two, which is due to be submitted by Nikal shortly. Within the proposals are two further large retail/leisure units.An agreement with listed residential landlord Grainger to forward fund and acquire a 373-home development for rent also within Phase Two Exchange Square, was announced in December last year.Whitbread has entered an agreement to lease the completed hotel development, which is subject to planning approval.On opening, the Premier Inn and Bar + Block are expected to create approximately 90 new jobs, with recruitment focused in central Birmingham.Subject to planning approval on revised plans for Phase Two, the Premier Inn at Exchange Square is targeted to open in 2021.Phase One is currently under construction and consists of 603 rental apartments and 30,000 sq ft of retail/leisure space across three buildings of 27, 16 and nine storeys.The first of the three towers is due for handover this month.Eversheds Birmingham acted for Nikal and DWF Manchester acted for Whitbread.