Principal Hotel Company (PHC) – owners of the Principal and De Vere brands – is to redevelop The Grand hotel in Birmingham.
The 180-room property is housed within a Grade II listed building on Colmore Row opposite Cathedral Square. Owned by Hortons’ Estate, it has operated as a hotel since the late 19th century until it closed in 2002.
Following extensive refurbishment the hotel is scheduled to reopen in early 2019, and will feature conference and banquet spaces, a restaurant and bar, spa facilities and a rooftop infinity pool.
The hotel will form part of a restored building which also features ten new shops and 1,000 sqm of office space.
Commenting on the news Tony Troy, CEO of Principal Hotel Company said:
“This partnership with Hortons not only consolidates the strength of our newly launched Principal urban lifestyle hotel brand, it also illustrates the confidence of our partners and investors in the potential of what we have created –potential that is already being realised by The Principal Manchester, The Principal York and The Principal Edinburgh George Street.
“Our ambitious plans for 2017 include the opening of our flagship hotel, The Principal London on Russell Square, as well as a second Principal Hotel in Edinburgh, with city-centre hotels in Glasgow, Cardiff, Liverpool, Leeds and Oxford joining Principal in late 2017 and over the course of 2018.”
The Principal hotel brand was formed in November 2016, following the repositioning of Starwood Capital Group’s portfolio of UK properties.
At the time PHC said that the signature features of the Principal offering would include “a brilliant bar and restaurant that resonates with ‘locals’ as much as it does with hotel guests”, vintage letterboxes in the lobbies, a “corner shop” selling treats and essentials, and a tuck box of complimentary snacks.