S'pore group buys Beatles-inspired hotel in Liverpool
Does City Developments Limited (CDL) executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng have a thing for The Beatles?
Last year, the property group signed a conditional contract to buy a piece of land on the banks of the River Thames which was where The Beatles made their first appearance to perform their first UK No. 1 hit Please Please Me.
CDL bought the 4.5 acre site, which housed Teddington Studios, for 80 million pounds (S$174 million) to build a luxurious residential complex in its place, the Telegraph reported.
Now, CDL has also bought a Beatles-inspired hotel in Liverpool, where the band are from.
CDL announced on Tuesday (Aug 11) that the Millennium & Copthorne Hotels has acquired a longlease interest in the Hard Days Night Hotel (which is named after the band's hit song and film) for 13.8 million pounds.
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels is the London-listed subsidiary of CDL and this would be its 24th property in the UK and Europe.
There is still 113 years left on the hotel's lease with the Liverpool City Council.
The hotel, built in 2008, has 110 rooms and suites and can count celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Robert Downey Jr among its previous guests.
Its suites - McCartney and Lennon - are understandably named after two of the more recognisable Beatles members Paul McCartney and John Lennon.
Sprinkled throughout the hotel are exclusive Beatles artwork by world renowned artists as well as photographs from the early 1960s till the present day.
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels' chief executive officer Aloysius Lee said that Liverpool is a leading tourist destination that attracts millions of visitors every year.
"Having been crowned Capital of Culture in 2008, the city maintains its prominent stance by investing in an array of forward-thinking regeneration projects, while firmly retaining its Beatles legacy,” Mr Lee said.
“Being the only one of its kind, the Hard Days Night Hotel offers an experience like no-other and we are confident that our guests, particularly from countries including China, USA and Europe, will be excited by the choice of this latest acquisition."
Mr Kwek added: "The city is undergoing an economic regeneration and we are proud to be a part of that.”
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