Work began this month on transforming the historic Free Trade Hall on Peters Street, Manchester into a å£45 million luxury hotel after more than five years of negotiation over its design.  Radisson Edwardian Hotels will be the operator of the new 5* hotel.



A major consortium represented by three of Britainå‘s biggest contractors/developers å- Alfred McAlpine Special Projects, The Oå‘Rourke Group and Laings, have reached agreement with Manchester City Council to build the å£45 million hotel complex in the heart of the city.  The work is expected to take two years and in that time the sensitive design plan will allow for the retention and enhancement of the distinctive Free Trade Hall building which will provide the prominent fa̤ade for the new hotel.

Manchester City Council are delighted that the proposals have resulted in a design, which will greatly enhance the 1850’s Walters façade on Peter Street.  A new 16-story tower will replace the somewhat austere elevations constructed behind the Italianate frontage, following bomb damage during the Second World War.

Nick Smart, Commercial Development director of Radisson Edwardian Hotels, said, “Radisson Edwardian Hotels are delighted by our appointment as long term operators of the new hotel to be built at the Free Trade Hall.  This is Radisson Edwardian’s first hotel outside London.  The Free Trade Hall has enjoyed a very special past and we are determined to ensure that it enjoys an even more spectacular future as Manchester’s finest hotel and banqueting venue.  The combination of the Free Trade Hall’s unique history, location beside G-Mex and the new International Convention Centre together with the dramatic new plans for its renaissance as one of the North of England’s finest hotels has proved an irresistible combination to Radisson Edwardian Hotels as Operators.  I believe it will prove equally appealing to its guests when the hotel opens in 2004.”  The luxury hotel on 16 floors will have 263 rooms and is due to be completed in early 2004.

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