Nazim Manji, chairman, Clubhouse Group, left, with Jonathan Sheard of Accor

Mercure has signed with The Abbey Hill Hotel in Milton Keynes, an ideally situated hotel just twenty five minutes from London Luton airport and next to the Abbey Hill Golf Club.

The hotel is currently undergoing a £1.5 million transformation and will officially operate as the Mercure Milton Keynes Abbey Hill Hotel in January 2013.

The hotel, once complete will boast 88 bedrooms, state-of-the-art meeting rooms and newly designed and furnished public spaces.

The real gem of the development is Molten, a restaurant which allows guests to see their food cooking at their table on volcanic slates.

The hotel will also boast a state-of-the-art outdoor area complete with decking and plenty of space to relax.

Nazim Manji, chairman and chief executive of Clubhouse Group, which owns and operates The Abbey Hill Hotel Milton Keynes commented: “We invest in hotels that have great potential and the Mercure Milton Keynes is exactly that.

“With outdoor dining and the restaurant, the hotel not only offers a great place to stay but also gives local people a place to go for an exciting dining experience.”

Mercure is the second largest mid-scale hotel worldwide - outside North America - with a network of 724 hotels in 51 countries.

Jonathan Sheard, managing director of operations, MGallery and Mercure Hotels UK & Ireland added: “We are delighted to welcome the Mercure Milton Keynes Abbey Hill Hotel to the network in the UK. It is a great hotel in an ideal location for business and leisure travellers.

“We now have 75 Mercure hotels in the UK and we are committed to increase the network by 2015 and this will largely be driven through our growing franchise development in the UK.”