Manchester’s First five star hotel, the Lowry has been sold.

The one hundred and fifty eight room and seven suite hotel which first opened in 2001, and has been on the market for most of the last five years, has been purchased by Westmont Hospitality Group.

The group, founded in 1975, currently has interests in over 500 hotels across three continents and has formed strategic alliances with many of the world’s largest hotel brands. These include Fairmont, InterContinental Hotels Group, Hilton, Accor, Starwood, Wyndham, Choice Hotels, Renaissance, Radisson and Best Western.

The company is one of the largest franchisees and co-owners of IHG hotels and Hilton hotels worldwide and has a very diversified portfolio ranging from budget and aparthotels to mid-market business and large conference hotels to boutique hotels and luxury resorts.

The purchase price is unknown.When first put on the market in 2007, The Rocco Forte Group were asking £50m but it is thought the current price would be around £40m.

The hotel, which regularly attracts sporting and show business guests, stands on Chapel Wharf, close to where DC Thomson, the printers once stood and has been at the centre of its redevelopment facing the River Irwell.

On its opening critics said it made “a bold contemporary architectural statement with its dramatic, curved, glass-fronted façade that creates a light and airy feel within the hotel interior.”

It’s current owners Rocco Forte were said to have wanted to sell to concentrate on their international visitors. The Lowry only attracted around three per cent if foreign guests to its rooms and therefore didn’t fit in.

In a statement Sir Rocco Forte said: “I am very proud that we created the Lowry as a first-class hotel in 2001 with an outstanding team and, in the process, played a role in the renaissance which Manchester has enjoyed in recent years. I wish the team at the Lowry, its customers, and its new owners the very best for the future.”

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