Edinburgh Council greenlights lease for Hyatt Centric hotel

The City of Edinburgh Council has agreed a 25-year lease with M&G Real Estate and its property development partner, Qmile Group, for a new 349-bed Hyatt Centric hotel at Haymarket Edinburgh. The seven-storey hotel will be the first Hyatt Centric in Scotland and will be managed and operated by the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) under a franchise agreement with Hyatt Hotels Corporation. Construction is due to begin “imminently”, and the hotel is expected to create around 200 jobs. It is scheduled to open in 2025. In addition to the Hyatt Centric, the 200,000 sq ft building will also be home to a hotel school and training academy, which will create training and employment opportunities for workers in the city’s leisure and tourism industry. Paul Curran, chief executive of Edinburgh-based Qmile Group, said: “Scotland’s first Hyatt Centric will be an excellent addition to Edinburgh’s world-famous hotel, leisure, and tourism sector, adding capacity and additional hospitality, conference and bar facilities. “EICC chief executive Marshall Dallas and his colleagues are expert operators and neighbours to Haymarket Edinburgh, therefore they are perfectly positioned to make the hotel and the hotel school a great success for the city.” He added: “We look forward to partnering with the EICC and The City of Edinburgh Council to deliver the Hyatt Centric concept within what will soon be a new and integral part of the city centre in which to stay, work or relax.” Aaron Pope, director, Asset Management at M&G Real Estate, said: “The Haymarket area of Edinburgh provided us with an opportunity to work with Qmile to transform this underused area of the city into a high-quality destination for those who visit, live and work in Edinburgh. “To have fully pre-let the hotel and office space at this relatively early stage demonstrates not only the attractiveness of the development, but also the strength of the Edinburgh real estate market, which continues to draw global office occupiers and tourists from around the world.” He added: “We look forward to working with our occupiers and Qmile to deliver a mixed-use development which is centred around sustainability and wellbeing. We will also continue to use our knowledge and expertise as an asset owner and asset manager to identify further opportunities where we can provide sustained income for our customers and clients.” EICC chief executive, Marshall Dallas, concluded: “The Haymarket Edinburgh development is central to the EICC’s future as Scotland's leading conference venue, and aligns with our mission to create an environment which inspires ideas that change the world. “Hyatt Centric Edinburgh Haymarket will be a cornerstone for attracting local and international travellers and notable luminaries to our venue each year. We are thrilled to work with Hyatt, M&G and Qmile Group on what will be the first Hyatt hotel in Scotland, and we look forward to the meaningful opportunities this property will bring to the city of Edinburgh.”