Wellbrook Hospitality and Branco Capital to open Leven hotel in Manchester

Wellbrook Hospitality and brothers Joshua and Ben Senior's investment vehicle Branco Capital have joined forces to open Leven hotel in Manchester next month.

Housed in an early 20th-century warehouse on the corner of Chorlton Street and Canal Street, the 33,000 sq ft property will be a design-led, 42-bedroom lifestyle hotel.

Timothy Griffin, PJ Kenny, and Shanthan Balakrishnan launched Wellbrook Hospitality in 2020 to develop and operate challenger brands in the hospitality field. All three previously worked at Ennismore – Griffin as managing director of North America, Kenny as general manager of the Hoxton in London's Holborn and Balakrishnan as hotels finance director UK and Europe.

Every room and suite at Leven Manchester will be inspired by the history and industrial bones of the building, merged with sleek interior touches. All will have oak parquet or timber floors, bespoke furniture, Naturalmat mattresses and Grown Alchemist bathroom amenities. Some will have high ceilings, exposed brickwork and standalone bathtubs, while others will have full kitchens.

There will be four room sizes: ‘life size' (standard bedroom), ‘living space' (one bedroom suite), ‘living large' (one bedroom duplex penthouse suite), and ‘living the dream' (two bedroom duplex penthouse suite). Nightly rates will start from £89 in a ‘life size' room, and from £299 in a ‘living the dream' suite.

The hotel's lobby and lounge will serve locally made breakfast pastries, a day-to-night snacking menu and own-blend coffee in collaboration with Origin, as well as cocktails. A series of local guest DJs will be hosted in the evenings. There will also be an in-room food and beverage service including accepting deliveries from local restaurants, complimentary house-made breakfast smoothies and private chefs bookable on request.

Phase two of Leven Manchester's launch will see a 1,700 sq ft cocktail bar and 4,000 sq ft restaurant space open on the ground and basement levels.

Griffin, principal of Wellbrook Hospitality, said: "At Leven, you can stay for a coffee, or stay for a cocktail. Stay for a day, or a year. We want to offer a beautiful, flexible space for every need – it's a hotel with freedom at its heart for both the modern traveller and the local crowd. We are super excited to be bringing this new player to Manchester's flourishing hotel scene."

Joshua Senior, Leven co-founder and chief executive, added: "This project has a special place in my heart, as it's such a prominent landmark building for the Village neighbourhood. I'm delighted to be working with the team at Wellbrook, whose veteran experience in the hospitality industry has been invaluable as we develop the Leven brand together. Manchester is buzzing right now, with many fantastic new businesses opening – it's a brilliant time to be bringing a new hotel and a new hangout to the city."