Cardiff Capital Region City Deal (CCR) has announced a £9.7m Strategic Premises Fund investment to finance the completion of the 146-bed Ty Newport Hotel, just off the M4 corridor.
The hotel will form part of the wider Celtic Manor Resort’s umbrella, the business established by Welsh-born entrepreneur, Sir Terry Matthews, who has founded over 100 successful technology businesses, including Mitel and Newbridge Networks.
As well as the 146 beds, the hotel will include a full-service restaurant, bar area, business meeting room facilities and electric vehicle charge points. A new Costa drive-through coffee shop has been built at the entrance to the hotel car park.
The additional hotel beds will support the ability of the International Convention Centre Wales (“ICCW”) to host larger conferences, the first of these being the Royal College of Nursing Conference from 2 – 6 June 2024. The level of activity at the ICCW has a significant positive economic impact on the local area through spend generated by the attendees that these events draw to the area.
The scheme has improved environmental outputs with all gas-powered functions having been replaced with an all-electric system that utilises heat pumps and photovoltaic panels on the roof as a condition of the loan. The hotel will have an EPC A rating, which is exceptional for an asset of this nature.
The hotel will further benefit the region through its planned partnership with two local tertiary education institutions, which will see up to 50 young people per year completing the practical training component of their hospitality management courses at the Ty Newport Hotel.
Rob O’Dwyer, Head of Infrastructure for CCR, commented that this project is another welcome boost to the region and will further enhance the provision of high-quality hotel accommodation to support increased demand for hospitality and conference facilities.
“The construction of the new hotel began in the summer of 2019 with opening originally planned for 2020. The construction programme was halted due to the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020. This loan investment from CCR’s Strategic Premises Fund will enable the construction to be completed and help generate additional local jobs and help enhance the long-term growth prospects and competitiveness of the local economy.”
Upon completion of the project the loan will be fully repaid at commercial rates and reinvested in further sustainable development opportunities across the region.
Mike Coutts, Associate Director, Investment Advisory, CBRE Capital Advisors commented: “CCR’S timely funding will breathe new life into the Newport hotel project which stalled during the pandemic and had subsequently been left in limbo.
“With CCR’s support, this ambitious, strategically located scheme is now able to come forward, promising a positive impact on the region through both increased tourist visits and the hotel’s planned student training partnerships which aim to upskill and create jobs for students of the sector.”
Cllr Andrew Morgan, Leader of Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council and Chair of the Strategic Premises Fund noted: “This investment is a great example of what the Strategic Premises Fund is intended to do – to provide investment that supports the delivery of CCR’s Regional Economic and Industrial Plan and our ambition to nurture good growth across the Region. In addition, it’s encouraging to see sustainability being built into a Welsh asset of this nature with an EPC rating of A and fossil fuel functions being replaced with a more energy efficient alternative. This investment is an exemplar of how CCR can support business in the Region to contribute to a Net Zero Wales”.
