Hotel in Grosvenor talks
INTERNATIONAL hotel chain Hilton Group is in late stage talks with property developer Grosvenor about opening an 11-storey venue at the new Liverpool One development in the city centre.
The 185 room, four-star hotel would be located next door to the new bus station on the junction of Strand and Canning Place.
Grosvenor director Rod Holmes yesterday said a deal should be finalised before Christmas. He said: "Hilton are very interested, but there are also other hotel operators who we are still talking to." A Hilton spokesperson said: "We are very keen to come into Liverpool. We have been in discussions about a number of sites for a few years."
Hilton would only operate the hotel. Grosvenor is currently looking for a partner to assist with its development, but no deal has been struck as yet. Grosvenor, which is pumping £920m into its 2.4m sq ft city centre shopping scheme, has already agreed to underwrite the construction of the hotel from its own resources, if necessary.
Hilton said they were not concerned by the numerous hotel operators that have moved into the city in recent years, including Irish chain Jurys, who plan to open a venue at Kings Dock, and Radisson SAS, which operates on Old Hall Street.
The spokesperson said: "As well as what is already there in the Liverpool market, we will be attracting customers to Liverpool from around the world.
"If people are looking for a room in another country, they try one of the international brands first." Hilton operates 400 hotels in Britain. Yesterday it announced the disposal of 15 of them for £382.4m. It said further sales could follow next year. However the hotel group will continue to operate the locations.
The London-based Hilton Group is in talks with its US namesake Hilton Corp, also a hotel operator, about a possible sale that could net the UK firm's shareholders around £3.6bn. If it happens, the deal would reunite the two brands after 40 years of trading separately.
By Bill Gleeson, Daily Post
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