Piccadilly dismisses demolition threat

Manchester's Piccadilly Hotel, which is operated by Jarvis Hotels, is shrugging off reports of threatened demolition and has embarked on a £1m refurbishment programme.

The Arab Bank, which controls the Piccadilly Plaza in which the hotel is sited, has been in talks with Manchester City Council, the freeholder of the complex, about redeveloping the site and demolishing the existing buildings.

But the hotel's general manager, Graham Cross, said Jarvis had 70 years of its lease left to run.

"We're the sitting tenants. We're confident about remaining," he told Caterer.

Last week, £500,000 worth of work started on a revamp of the hotel's Peacock Suite. Later this year, another £500,000 is to be invested in refurbishing 70 of the 271 bedrooms.