New hotel to be built above bar
THE owner of three Southport venues has revealed plans to create a boutique hotel in the town centre.
The Mikhail Hotel and Leisure Group is planning to continue its expansion in the town with the addition of the upmarket 27-room hotel.
The group is already responsible for the Bold Hotel in Lord Street, which underwent a multimillion pound renovation in 2016 and has had a significant increase in popularity.
The group has played a role in the creation of the town’s Northern Quarter through the opening of Irish pub Punch Tarmey’s in 2016 and then the adjacent nightclub, Khepri.
The new hotel will be built above Khepri, which opened in July 2017 as an Egyptian restaurant and nightclub. As part of the plans, Khepri will transformed into a champagne and wine bar, featuring live music including saxophonists and pianists.
The firm has submitted plans for the hotel to Sefton Council and, with some building work now under way, is aiming to open its doors in summer of 2018.
Andrew Mikhail, chairman of the Mikhail Hotel and Leisure Group, said: “We are really excited to start the New Year with the announcement that Lord Street and Southport is to get another high standard boutique hotel.
“We saw great potential in the town when we first came across the Bold Hotel at the start of 2016. Since acquiring that and bringing it up to the standard that it is now, we have opened another three venues within a very small radius as we know that the customer base is there for the right type of business.
“The Bold Hotel is often fully booked and this year has ran at 95% occupancy which says not only are the rooms a high standard but we know that there is a demand for another high quality hotel in the town achieving the same standards as the Bold.
He added: “We have worked closely with Sefton Council’s planning department when we have been developing our other sites and we have now submitted another application to them for this hotel.
“We believe that what we are doing is truly enhancing a prev- iously neglected part of the town.
“What we are creating can only add to the investment coming into the town and the number of jobs that the group has created. The new hotel will create another 50 jobs.
“Once we have the go ahead, we plan to open in the summer and look forward to showing people how we have transformed all four storeys of the previously derelict building.”
Announcing the new plans, the firm acknowledged the noise issues which have been associated with Khepri, adding that the transformation to a champagne bar will rectify this. In the meantime, Khepri will remain open on Saturdays only.
Mikhail Hotel and Leisure Group opened its first hotel in St Helens in 2015 before beginning its expansion into Southport. It also opened a second Punch Tarmey’s in St Helens last month.