A NEW hotel will mark another investment milestone for Newcastle Helix. An urban space that brings people and businesses together, this investment will further enhance its living, leisure, and business offer.
This £18m scheme has been brought forward by international developer, Vastint Hospitality who invest in major business locations and currently have more than 80 hotels across North America, Europe, and Asia. Moxy Hotels is Marriott International’s new millennial-focused brand that debuted in September 2014 with the opening of the Moxy Milan.
Vastint Hospitality entered into an agreement with Marriott International to develop and own this new portfolio of hotels under the Moxy Hotels brand, all forming part of their investment portfolio in cities like London, NYC, and Paris. After seeing the potential in Newcastle, they are looking to design, build, and operate a hotel on Newcastle Helix, adding the city to their portfolio of hotels across the world. EJ Hales is the agent acting for Vastint in this land acquisition.
As well as offering high quality office space for science, tech and healthcare businesses, the site hosts a number of high-profile businesses events, exhibitions, and conferences bringing in visitors and speakers from across the globe. This new hotel will add to this visitor experience, enabling them to socialise and connect with delegates as well as being close to Newcastle’s vibrant city centre and experience everything else the region has to offer. This hotel isn’t just aimed at business, its unique lifestyle brand will also attract singles, couples and friends who want to stay in a stylish city centre hotel.
This will be the first Moxy Hotel in the North East and will look to offer 160 hotel rooms over 7 floors. A boutique-hotel concept, Moxy is a fresh and innovative brand combining stylish design at an affordable price, bringing a new style of hotel to Newcastle. With tech-enabled bedrooms, vibrant lobby spaces and warm, modern service, Moxy looks to provide a thoughtful, spirited, and fun guest experience. They are designed with space in mind and are perfect for business and leisure guests to work and play.
This lifestyle brand in aligned to the ethos of Newcastle Helix as a place to bring together businesses, citizens, and academics together, playing a key part in Newcastle’s social and
economic future, helping people live well and creating a culture of collaboration.
Tourism is the fourth largest sector in the North East, and worth more than £1.75bn to Newcastle and Gateshead’s economy each year and supporting in excess of 20,000 jobs. As well as bring much needed jobs to the region this new hotel will enhance the city’s offer to the millions of business and leisure visitors who return every year.
Sarah Green, Chief Executive from destination marketing organisation NewcastleGateshead Initiative, said:
“This new hotel in the heart of our city centre will be surrounded by innovation, businesses, people, and culture. Newcastle Helix is such an asset to our region, playing an instrumental role in driving new investment, influencing business relocation decisions, and creating a place where people can live well. This new investment will support us with the recovery of our economy and further position Newcastle Helix as a place to live, work and enjoy.
“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the tourism industry across the world, with our venues closed and events having to be postponed and cancelled, but people and businesses will return. Newcastle and Gateshead has worked hard to grow our visitor numbers to more than 18 million every year and this investment is a signal of confidence and great news for the industry, as well as conference and event’s organisers who will be even more spoilt for choice. We look forward to when visitors can again experience everything we have to offer, and when they do, I’m sure we will all give them a great authentic North East welcome.”
Councillor Ged Bell, Cabinet Member for Employment and Culture at Newcastle City Council said:
“This hotel is a milestone in the story of Newcastle Helix and comes at a time when creating jobs has never been more important as we recover from the pandemic. Business leaders, academics and experts travel from all over the world to attend conferences, study, work and enjoy our wonderful city, so a hotel would be well suited to the site.
“Obviously, any planning application must first be subject to the rigours of the planning process. I look forward with interest on this exciting scheme which highlights the huge contribution Newcastle Helix is making to the local economy.”
Ben Rodgers, Head of Regeneration at Legal & General Investment Management said:
“We are delighted to have been a part of this exciting deal, which further adds to the impressive range of facilities and growing community at Newcastle Helix. It is vital that in this time of economic uncertainty we continue to invest in the UK’s towns and cities, creating new opportunities for employment and collaboration whilst also supporting the all-important tourism sector.”
Kerr Young of JLL, who brokered the deal said:
“The brokerage of this deal for Newcastle represents not only a further milestone in the evolution of the masterplan for Newcastle Helix, but is a statement of intent from Vastint. Despite the short-term hiatus that COVID-19 has introduced to the hotel sector we continue to speak to a variety of investors that are attracted to well-located opportunities that will generate revenue, profit and value over the longer term.”
The scheme is subject to planning permission from Newcastle City Council, looking to open its doors in late 2021.
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