Latest Manchester City Centre Premier Inn officially tops out
Whitbread PLC, the UK’s largest hotel business and owner of Premier Inn, has celebrated the topping out of its new 229-bedroom Premier Inn at the edge of Manchester’s vibrant Northern Quarter.
The site on Rochdale Road is the latest investment from Whitbread in its network of budget hotels in Manchester as it responds to consistently high levels of customer demand in the city.
With the building’s structure complete, the hotel will now be fitted out to Whitbread’s latest brand standards, which will include the popular ‘enhanced’ Premier Plus rooms and an integrated restaurant, bar and reception space on the ground floor.
When it opens in autumn 2026, the ten-storey hotel will be Whitbread’s second largest hotel in Manchester City Centre and will offer guests convenient access to Victoria Station and the Northern Quarter’s renown cultural, retail and nightlife offer.
Will Steward, Project and Programme Manager for Whitbread, said:
“Whitbread is a long-standing investor in Manchester, and we have an ambitious strategy to continue our growth in the city to meet strong year-round customer demand.
“Rochdale Road’s prime location by Manchester’s famous Northern Quarter strengthens our presence in this part of the city. A combination of the Quarter’s vibrant social, creative and retail scene and its proximity to the business districts of Manchester city centre means this is a prime location for both our business and leisure customers.
“The swift transformation of this once stalled development site into a new affordable hotel for the city is a testament to Whitbread’s ability to deliver sizeable projects in central locations. I’m looking forward to working with the contractor team to finish the development and add another superb location for our customers to our growing Manchester network.”
Whitbread acquired the freehold of the Rochdale Road location from Premcor in February 2024. Construction of the hotel began in October 2024, led by principal contractor GMI Construction Group.
Anthony Judge, GMI’s Regional Director for the North West, said:
“This is a proud moment for the entire team. Topping out marks a major step forward on what is a complex and high-profile city centre site, and it’s testament to the hard work, expertise and collaboration across everyone involved. Following our successful partnership with Whitbread on the award-winning Premier Inn in Keswick, we’re delighted to be working together again to deliver a truly standout hotel in Manchester. With its striking brick façade, it will be a great addition to the city’s skyline, and we look forward to carrying that momentum through to completion.”
The new Rochdale Road Premier Inn is the latest investment by Whitbread in Manchester City Centre and forms part of a wider network strategy for its hotel network in the city. Alongside the development, the company is currently working with HIX Manchester on the delivery of the largest Premier Inn in the north of England, situated at Manchester Airport.
As part of Whitbread’s Force for Good sustainability strategy, all Whitbread self-built hotels will be powered solely by renewable electricity from 2025, and the company has a stated target to reduce water consumption per sleeper by 20% by 2030.
Whitbread, which currently offers guests a choice of more than 85,000 Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn bedrooms across the UK and Ireland, sees the potential for further expansion across the north of England as it works towards a target of 125,000 UK rooms.
The business is currently searching for more than 20 new locations for its market leading brands across the north and the company’s latest property requirements are available here: whitbread.com/property.
