Acting on behalf of Quay Hotels Ltd, Christie + Co has secured Wyndham Hotels to operate the 202-bedroom Newcastle-Gateshead Ramada Encore Hotel.
Construction has now commenced on the estimated £17m project, with completion due in March 2012 for what will be Wyndham’s flagship operation in the North of England.
The hotel will occupy a strategic position within the Baltic Business Quarter — the hub of Newcastle-Gateshead’s rapidly growing business district. The new business will be located immediately opposite Terrace Hill’s 50-acre Baltic Business Park and within close proximity to the Sage Gateshead and The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art.
In addition, recently released master plan proposals from 1NG provide the framework for other exciting developments in the area, such as a new International Conference & Exhibition Centre, adjacent to the iconic Sage building. The creation of a variety of public spaces and employment-led initiatives are also set to further enhance the area’s business, leisure and tourism provision.
Rob Tindle of Quay Hotels commented: “We have worked exceptionally closely with Wyndham and their professional team and are excited to be developing what we hope will be the first of a number of high quality, mid-market hotel schemes in key locations around the country. In addition, we are working with Christie + Co to seek operators/occupiers for the site adjacent to the hotel which we believe could be ideally suited to either serviced-apartment/aparthotel or office use.”
Jon Patrick, Head of Leisure & Development at Christie + Co, added: “The Newcastle-Gateshead area remains high on hospitality operator’s wish lists as a target location due to key business, leisure & tourism factors. In addition, it is highly accessible by road, rail and air and ongoing investment in infrastructure has definitely seen both sides of the Tyne increasingly complementing one another. From a hotel perspective, the Ramada Encore brand is certainly capable of significant further roll out around the UK and Europe in the all important mid-market hotel sector.”