Accor expands Mercure portfolio to 75 UK hotels

Situated in London, Scotland, Milton Keynes and Darlington, the latest franchise agreements will add 394 rooms to the Mercure network, creating over 120 jobs across the regions.

“We are delighted to welcome our new partner hotels to the Mercure network in the UK,” said Jonathan Sheard, managing director of operations for Accor’s MGallery and Mercure brands in the UK and Ireland. “Each hotel has its own unique story and represents an exciting new destination for business and leisure travellers alike.

“We’re committed to significantly growing our Mercure hotel portfolio by 2015 and this will largely be driven through our growing franchise development in the UK. We are delighted to welcome these four new hotel partners, all of which are a natural fit for the Mercure brand.

“By joining with our business, our franchise partners will be able to boost their hotels’ existing exposure through the use of our brand name and benefit from our existing expertise, powerful global distribution networks and committed sales force.”

The new Mercure hotels...​

• First to open is the Mercure Darlington Kings Hotel, which launched last week. Originally built as a coaching inn, the hotel underwent an £8m refurbishment programme after a blaze caused severe damage to the property in 2008. The refurbished hotel located in the heart of the historic market town features 83 bedrooms, conference and banqueting suites, à la carte restaurant - Carriages No. One - and cocktail bar, Carriages.
• This opening will be followed by the Mercure London Greenwich hotel, which will offer 145 bedrooms over 10 storeys. The hotel conversion project witnessed an additional two storeys added at roof level and complete internal refurbishment.
• Also opening later this month is the four-star Barony Castle Hotel and Spa in Eddleston, 17 miles south of Edinburgh. Featuring 78 bedrooms, the hotel has undergone a £400,000 refurbishment programme, transforming it into a four-star Mercure hotel.
• In addition, the Abbey Hill Hotel in Milton Keynes, which is one of the first purpose built hotels in Milton Keynes, is undergoing a full transformation prior to its re-launch in January 2013. Once complete, the city-centre hotel will boast 88 bedrooms, state-of-the-art meeting rooms and newly designed and furnished public spaces.

Mercure is the second largest mid-scale hotel brand worldwide - outside North America - with a network of 724 hotels in 51 countries.

Jonathan​ Sheard​

Earlier this year, BigHospitality spoke to Sheard in the below video interview, in which he revealed Accor had a target of no more than 150 hotels under the 'memorable collection' brand across the world.