Martins bank part of £50m plans for Liverpool's first five-star hotel

Martins bank building in Liverpool is set for a £50m investment, which is expected to transform it into the city's first potential five-star hotel.

It will be part of the new brand of urban lifestyle hotels being created by Starwood Capital, currently codenamed Project 1898, headed by chief operating officer David Taylor.

The Martins bank building on Water Street - occupied by Barclays until 2009 - will be the first non-hotel property to be converted to the brand. It will join a collection of around 10 iconic hotels, which in recent years have been left to fade and are now being renovated at a cost of more than £100m.

Improvement works are already under way at the George hotel in Edinburgh, the Royal York in York and the Palace in Manchester. The portfolio also includes the 370-bedroom Russell hotel in London, which is expected to become the flagship property of the brand.

Starwood Capital is creating the brand from a collection of hotels it has bought over the past three years including Principal Hayley, De Vere Venues, Four Pillars Hotels and the Town House Collection.

The Grade II-listed Liverpool building was a former hiding place for Britain's gold during the Second World War. It was designed and built by Herbert Rowse and opened in 1932 as the head office of Martins bank, which was bought by Barclays Bank in 1969.

Castlewood Securities, which has owned the Martin's Bank building for 20 years, has been acquired by Principal Hayley Group Hotels in the deal. Castlewood has obtained full planning and Listed Building consent for the proposed development, which will include a 227-bedroom hotel with three bars, two restaurants and a spa.

Tony Troy, Principal Hayley Group's CEO, said: "The Martins bank building provides us with a strategically important presence in the heart of the Liverpool market, where there is a clear consumer need for a full-service luxury hotel and events space."

The hotel is expected to open in late 2017 or early 2018. It will create 200 full-time jobs and 350 construction jobs.

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