AZ Real Estate brokers £4m investment in Manchester hotel for Russian investor

AZ Real Estate, the London and Moscow based real estate consultancy, has brokered a £4m investment in the Hilton Hotel, Manchester Airport, on behalf of a private Russian equity investor.

The £4m equity is part of a wider pool of overseas investment into the hotel, with the fund management process being overseen by Regency Project Management. Scheduled to open in 2021 and with a GDV of £116m, the scheme is being developed by Versant Developments and will form part of the wider hotel district at Manchester Airport. It will comprise 600 rooms and become one of the leading hotels in the £1bn Airport City Masterplan taking place across a period of 12 years, which includes a series of new consumer facilities including circa 50 food, beverage and retail outlets as well as technological improvements and expansions to the airport terminals. The brand new hotel district, which will see the construction of four new hotels between now and 2021, will capitalise on the 25 million customers that pass through Manchester Airport every year.

Alisa Zotimova, founder and CEO of AZ Real Estate, commented: “With an increasingly transient generation and globalised business environment, hotels are fast becoming some of the most reliable assets for investors with long term potential. They represent an excellent opportunity in areas with guaranteed high footfall, and the combination of Manchester’s rapid growth and £1bn airport masterplan looks set to make this a highly successful transaction.”

“The investment serves as further evidence of overseas investors increasingly looking beyond the confines of the capital’s residential asset class when it comes to portfolio expansion. The regions, particularly the likes of Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds are fast-becoming some of the UK’s most attractive and sustainable investment destinations as vast regeneration projects take shape.”

Danilo Lacmanovic, Regency Project Management, commented: “Manchester’s revival has been a real success story for the UK and investors are keeping tabs on the opportunities available across commercial assets in particular. The rapid growth of the tourism sector coupled with Manchester’s status as a leading business destination makes the Hilton Hotel one of the most attractive commercial investments in the region and we look forward to its opening.”