The Radisson Blu Hotel, Glasgow in Scotland has been purchased out of administration by Azure Properties for a reported £27.5 million. The 247-room hotel had been in administration since November 2011. The hotel, which underwent a complete rooms renovation in 2011, will continue to operate under the existing management agreement with Rezidor Hotel Group as a Radisson Blu property. Over in northwest England, the owner of the Radisson Blu Edwardian in Manchester, the Edwardian Group, has plans to expand the 263-room hotel.
The group has purchased an old unused theatre adjacent to the property. The Theatre Royal opened in 1845 and has been used for many purposes over the years, such as a cinema, bingo hall and nightclub, before it was left empty. The Edwardian group is to work with Manchester City Council and English Heritage to restore the building and incorporate it into the hotel.
...And Four Radisson Blus In Europe
Rezidor Hotel Group plans to rebrand two existing hotels in Germany under its Radisson Blu brand. The 190-room Radisson Blu Hotel Dortmund, in the west of the country, is to become part of the family in January 2013, followed by the 235-room Radisson Blu Hotel Bremen, in northwest Germany, in June 2013. Both hotels, which are owned by Stockholm-based Pandox, will undergo an 18-month soft renovation to bring them in line with Radisson Blu standards. As well as adding to its pipeline, Rezidor has also opened two new flagship properties this week. In Russia, the 508-room Radisson Blu Resort & Congress Centre, Sochi has opened on the city's Black Sea coast ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. The Radisson Blu Hotel, Nantes is now welcoming guests in Nantes city centre, western France. The 142-room hotel is housed in the city's former Court of Justice, which dates from the mid 19th century.
Aloft Coming To Germany
Starwood Hotels & Resorts has signed two contracts with Munich-based real estate company Schörghuber Corporate Group to introduce its Aloft brand to Germany. The 184-room Aloft Munich is to be developed in Munich city centre and the new-build, 165-room Aloft Stuttgart will be part of Stuttgart's mixed-use MILANEO project in the city's European Quarter. Both hotels are owned and will be developed by Schörghuber Corporate Group and are expected to open in 2015. "The signings of Aloft Munich and Aloft Stuttgart underline Starwood's continued commitment to expanding our portfolio of mid-market brands in Germany and throughout Europe," said Bart Carnahan, Starwood's senior vice president of acquisitions and development for EMEA.