Hostel chain a&o Hostels has acquired two hotel assets on Portland Street and Dickinson Street in central Manchester from Ares Real Estate funds and EQ Group.
The four-storey, adjoining properties, which total 13,000 sq m, were previously operated under a franchise agreement with Accor, trading under its budget and mid-market hotel brands ibis and Novotel.
A&o Hostels will shortly commence an £8.2m refurbishment programme of both properties to deliver a scheme comprising 1,218 beds across 303 rooms – 30% private rooms, 30% family rooms and 40% dormitories.
StepStone Group and Proprium Capital Partners sponsored the management-led acquisition of a&o at the end of 2023 and together they have invested circa €500m into the platform’s expansion over the last 18 months. Recent acquisitions included assets in London, Brighton, Brussels, Antwerp, and Heidelberg, as well as the Schulz Hotel platform.
Oliver Winter, CEO of a&o Hostels, said: “As one of the UK’s best performing hotel markets outside of London, attracting over 1.9 million visitors annually, we have long regarded Manchester as a key strategic target and are therefore really pleased that we can now establish a significant footprint through this freehold acquisition. The transaction concludes a highly successful year for a&o Hostels which has seen us deliver circa 5,500 new beds across four new cities, as well as bring the Schulz Hotel platform into our group.”
