Construction Continues to Progress Well at the Royal Albert Docks Hotel

As the grand opening of the Royal Albert Docks Hotel grows closer, construction at the site continues at great pace with the development on track for its completion date heading into the New Year.

Since our last update in October, the benign weather conditions towards the end of this year has allowed resources to be deployed to the fullest extent. Brickwork has now been completed to the east and south side of the courtyard, with the completion of groundworks to follow in these areas. All insulation has now been installed, with cladding rails in place throughout, allowing for the installation of the rainscreen after the Christmas period.

UK Property Investment Opportunity

The building’s roof covering has now been completed, with the roof-top plant now in position and the ductwork nearing completion in this area. All of the mechanical and electrical installation in the service risers has been finished, whilst upper floor ceilings are being closed in preparation for second-fix joinery and decorations.

On the ground floor, all of the glazing has been completed and door installation has begun. Mechanical and electrical works remain underway for both the public and back-of-house areas on the ground floor and are nearing completion. UKPN will finalise the connection of the sub-station this week, allowing for power to be provided to these areas.

A strategy for pre-opening preparations is being developed, with all parties involved in the construction of the hotel working closely with the IHG pre-opening team to ensure all relevant testing and commissioning is completed, with all appropriate certification, ahead of the predicted practical completion date of 2nd March.

On the operations front, Interstate has set the ‘Pre-Sale’ live, creating website sales of £72,100 around key ExCeL events during May, August and September 2015, in addition to arranging £93,800 for January and February 2016. The key milestones over the next period will be the agreement of the marketing strategy and budget for 2015 and finalisation of the food and beverage strategy. The ‘business on the books’ chart shows some very positive numbers for summer 2015 and Jan/Feb 2016, and the finalisation of the website and closing the gap between our opening date and the ‘pre-sale live’ date are expected to drive even more exciting revenue forecasts in due course.

Managed UK Student Property Investment

As the Royal Albert Docks Hotel enters the final stages of construction and prepares for its opening, the hotel is unfortunately sold out. However, Principal International has a range of exciting developments still available for investment including a range of excellent student accommodation investments.

With NET rental returns of up to 10%, rental assurances and fully managed property investments available, student accommodation is an excellent investment opportunity for purchasers.

For more information on the excellent student properties that we have available, please click here.