Bilfinger GVA boss hails North West’s booming hotels sector

Hotel businesses across the North West are seeing strong growth this year as demand continues to outstrip supply, according to Bilfinger GVA.

The property consultancy’s director of hotels, Martin Davis, said international investors are acquiring the region’s hospitality businesses as the Government’s Northern Powerhouse vision gains momentum and investment in the North West’s infrastructure continues to be well publicised.

Discussing the growth, Martin said: “Recent sales in the region have seen buyers come from as far afield as Russia, China, Malaysia, India and Hong Kong.

“We have also seen buyers from the South of England drawn to our region because of the perceived value for money of lower priced assets when compared with equivalent properties in the London and Southern counties, where bricks-and-mortar values can be prohibitive.”

He added: “Buyers can easily see the value in acquiring Northern assets, particularly where there is no shortage of custom and trade.”

In Manchester, the hotel sector continued its upward trend despite an increase in bed stock, according to figures from hospitality data firm STR.

The city’s revenue per available room, or RevPAR, grew last year by around 1% more than the UK regional average, at 7.2%.

Additionally, Q1 2016 showed a similar trend, with Manchester achieving year-on-year RevPAR growth of 3.3% compared to the rest of the UK’s 0.9% figure.

As fewer new beds are due to enter Manchester’s hotels market this year, the growth trend is expected to accelerate.

Speaking further, Martin said Manchester’s profit per room in the 12 months to March 2016 stood at £43.51, a year-on-year rise of 9.3%.

He continued: “The regions outside of London outperformed the capital in 2015, in a record breaking year for UK tourism and the hospitality sector.

“This was once again led by the North where there has been a vast array of new hotels opening to try and meet demand of both business and leisure visitors.”

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