Hotel is confirmed for Newport’s tallest building
AFOUR-STAR hotel has been confirmed for Newport’s tallest building at the heart of a mixed-use development scheme that will provide a 350 new jobs boost for the city.
After discussions with a number of leading players in the hotel sector, including the Celtic Manor Resort, expanding property development firm Garrison Barclay Estates has struck a deal with Mercure Hotel for a 163-bedroom hotel at the Chartist Tower building it owns in the centre of the city.
The Mercure hotel will be operated by Redefine BDL under a 10-year franchise arrangement.
Cardiff-based Garrison Barclay Estates acquired the vacant 15-storey 1960s building last year.
And it has now lodged a planning application with Newport Council to transform Chartist Tower in a £12m investment.
The commercial real estate arm of Coutts has provided funding for the project.
As well as a four-star hotel across 11 floors, an asset that will remain in the ownership of Garrison Barclay Estates, the project also includes:
■ 30,000 sq ft of office space, which would bring much-needed new Grade A office space into the centre of Newport.
■ 18,000 sq ft of retail space on the ground floor.
■ A top-floor restaurant affording spectacular views across the city and the Severn Estuary to the English coast.
All the office and retail space, subject to planing consent, is under offer to occupiers.
The retail space includes plans for a post office and a food store, the latter which would occupy around twothirds of the space.
The office element will be occupied by one company, the identity of which at this stage, ahead of planning, is not being disclosed.
On the ground floor, the hotel will have a dedicated function room capable of hosting 400 people.
The four-star hotel will go some way to meet the current lack of available quality hotel space in the city.
Garrison Barclay Estates is also currently talking to a number of leading chefs to operate the top floor/rooftop restaurant, which will have a distinctive Welsh theme.
Subject to planning, the scheme’s hotel and restaurant are scheduled to open in the summer of 2019, to coincide with the opening of the new £84m convention centre (ICC Wales) at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, which will bring conferences and delegates from around the world to the region.
However, the retail and the office space will be ready for occupancy in January.
Subject to planning, work on the hotel will start in August.
Andrew Innes, of Garrison Barclay Estates, said: “Our application of retail, office and hotel will generate over 350 jobs for the city centre of Newport.
“We are very proud of the team efforts to put all of this together from design and planning of this unique opportunity within five months of acquisition.
“Normally this would have been at least 18 months of planning works. We are excited to work on this project and looking forward to welcoming our new tenants pending planning approval.”
The planning application for Chartist Tower has been overseen by Mike Southall of GVA. The scheme’s architect is Ann-Marie Smale of Powell Dobson.
Meanwhile, one of the biggest Grade A office buildings in Wales has been sold in a £23m deal to Tesco Pension Fund.
The investment in the 85,000 sq ft No 2 Capital Quarter office scheme, at the Capital Quarter development in the centre of Cardiff, was sold on behalf of developer JR Smart by property advisory firm Knight Frank.
Tenants in the office scheme include Public Health Wales, Opus, WS Atkins and Lambert Smith Hampton.
Gareth Lloyd, partner in the capital markets team in Knight Frank’s Cardiff office, said: “Attracting such a prominent national investor demonstrates the attractiveness of Capital Quarter – and Cardiff city centre – to the UK investment sector.
“Independent property specialist JR Smart is changing the face of Cardiff city centre in a relatively short period of time with its office-led mixed-use Capital Quarter development.”
JR Smart is currently speculatively constructing two other major Grade A office buildings totalling 170,000 sq ft on the 10-acre Capital Quarter site fronting Tyndall Street.
No 3 Capital Quarter, at 79,000 sq ft, will be ready to be occupied in June – with news of lettings due to be announced shortly – while the 97,000 sq ft No 4 Capital Quarter building is due for completion in March 2019.
JR Smart chairman John Smart said: “We are delighted to have sold No 2 Capital Quarter to Tesco Pension Fund and complete another successful chapter in the Capital Quarter story.
“Having welcomed new tenants such as Public Health Wales, Opus Energy, Atkins and Lambert Smith Hampton at No 2 Capital Quarter, we hope to continue these successes with our new developments No 3 and No 4 Capital Quarter, which will be completed shortly and welcome to new occupiers and investors there too.”
More than half a million square feet of new development has already been built to date, and Capital Quarter will total over one million sq ft of development when complete, including offices, hotels, student housing and education uses.