October 2020

Blackpool Council and Muse Developments, development partners on Blackpool’s flagship Talbot Gateway regeneration project are delighted to announce that contracts are now signed with the hotel management company RBH, Holiday Inn and Black & White Hospitality (owner of Marco Pierre White’s restaurant chain) for the New Holiday Inn Blackpool Hotel.

The brand new four-star hotel, which is scheduled to open in Summer 2022, is part of a wider regeneration project for Blackpool including retail units and improved public transport links, with a new tram terminal, all within the Talbot Gateway central business district. Total investment in Phase Two Talbot Gateway is £34.6m. Holiday Inn Blackpool will boast 144 bedrooms as well as Marco’s New York Italian restaurant and create up to 50 new full time equivalent jobs. 

RBH is the UK’s leading independent hotel management company with an existing portfolio of 45 branded and independent hotels across the UK and already includes Blackpool’s Imperial Hotel. 

Andrew Robb, Chief Business Development Officer at RBH, said: “It has been great to work with the team at Blackpool Council over the past few years, seeing first-hand the passion and dedication they have for their town. As the flagship commercial development for Blackpool, Holiday Inn will form the centrepiece of the Talbot Gateway development’s second phase, transforming an important gateway to the town. We are delighted to be working with our partners at IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) on this project and can’t wait to get started.” 

Susan Bland, Managing Director at RBH, said: “We are thrilled to announce the continued growth of the RBH portfolio with the addition of Holiday Inn Blackpool. I am exceptionally proud that our track record in both development and operations proved instrumental in this appointment. Despite the challenges our industry is facing at the moment – which we are all navigating together – the fundamentals of hospitality remain unchanged in the long term, and we are looking to the future with excitement and positivity thanks to developments like this.”

Cllr Mark Smith Cabinet Member for Business Enterprise and Job Creation said, “Talbot Gateway continues to transform this key entrance into town and highlights the excellent commercial opportunities we have to offer. We’re delighted to welcome the Holiday Inn and Marco Pierre White brands to Blackpool and are confident that more internationally successful, recognised leisure businesses will follow in their wake. It raises the bar in terms of what people can come to expect from Blackpool’s leisure offer, providing a much needed boost to the year-round economy and creating sustainable long terms jobs for the local community.”

Marco’s New York Italian:

Inspired by his Italian heritage and love for New York, Marco’s New York Italian restaurant will reflect the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple as well as Marco’s passion for classic, simple, authentic food. Visitors to Blackpool will now be able to look forward to enjoying a mix of Italian-inspired dishes and American classics from a menu created personally by Marco himself while feeling they’ve been transported to the bistros and diners of New York.

Nick Taplin, Chairman and CEO of Black and White Hospitality added: “This New York Italian is perfect for Blackpool. It represents friendly, casual dining and will give locals and visitors a great new place to go out and eat. It’s not pretentious, it’s just good food, served in a great environment.”

“This is also fantastic news for Blackpool town as well as Black and White. The New York Italian fits perfectly with the Holiday Inn and we already have a number of hugely successful restaurants trading under this popular hotel brand. In these uncertain times it is good to look forward and plan such positive developments. Black and White Hospitality has a very strong portfolio and our business model of aligning the restaurant brands with hotels is one that has proved very successful in the UK as we approach our 50^th venue.”