New owner plans to reopen unfinished Hilton hotel

An unfinished Hilton Garden Inn that has stood empty for years in a city has been sold and its new owners plan to reopen it in summer 2027.

Cambridgeshire-based Leisure & Co Hotel Ltd has acquired the 160-bedroom hotel in Fletton Quays, Peterborough, which remains about 80% complete.

In 2017 Peterborough City Council lent the hotel's original developer, Fletton Quays Hotel Ltd, £15m before the company entered administration, leading councillors to approve the sale of the site.

The hotel, which will be managed by Leaf Hospitality, will have dining and leisure facilities, including a rooftop terrace, and is expected to create about 60 jobs for the local area.

The authority said it had made a loss on the deal with the previous developer, but believed selling the hotel was the best option available.

The project began under a Conservative administration, which attributed its failure to the Covid pandemic and costs of building materials rising "three times".

A sales brochure earlier this year revealed it would cost an extra £14m to complete the site, which has been hit with a "pigeon infestation and water ingress".

Administrators, Teneo, have been in charge of the asset since the council took Fletton Quays Hotel Ltd into administration in October 2024.

Mohammed Jamil, the authority's Labour cabinet member for finance and corporate governance, called the sale "positive news".

"We considered a number of different options with the administrators and selling the asset best protected the interests of taxpayers and supported the continued regeneration of this important area of the city," he said.

Previously, John Howard, a Conservative councillor, said the previous administration "couldn't have foreseen Covid" and he did not agree with the sale.

A spokesperson for Leisure & Co Hotel Ltd said: "This represents a significant investment in Fletton Quays, and we look forward to welcoming guests to the hotel next year."

Paul Blackmore, the vice-president of development, UK and Ireland at Hilton, said: "We're excited to see Hilton Garden Inn Peterborough moving forward and to reaffirm our commitment to this important project.

"Fletton Quays is an important regeneration scheme for the city, and this hotel has the potential to play a key role in bringing new visitors, jobs and energy to a prominent riverside location."

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