Chancellors Hotel and Conference Centre to be repurposed for student benefit

19 Jul 2019

The University’s Chancellors Hotel and Conference Centre is to be repurposed into a student hub, 64 catered en-suite room student accommodation, flexible study space, a café and office space, which will provide a new focal point for our Fallowfield site from September 2020.

As a result it will cease to operate as a hotel from 2 December 2019 in preparation for work to deliver the new student facility on the same site as our new student residences. Until 2 December Chancellors will be operating as usual, and will continue to welcome colleagues and external business alike. 

By using the site as a student hub we will be able to deliver significant savings to our ongoing accommodation projects at nearby Oak House, whilst also improving the overall student experience.

Over recent years our team at Chancellors has worked successfully to increase income and to reduce costs, and deliver a more sustainable financial model. However, the hotel has been operating in an increasingly competitive market in and around the city and has particular challenges due to its location.

University of Manchester Conferences Ltd, which runs Chancellors, has therefore recommended that it should cease operations and this was recently approved by the University’s Planning and Resources Committee. 

Regrettably, as a result of the anticipated closure, 57 staff are at risk of redundancy. We will seek to avoid this by offering redeployment opportunities within University of Manchester Conferences Ltd or employment opportunities within the University where possible, including retraining people where we can. We are consulting with UNISON on these proposed changes.

We have worked carefully through the impact of the closure plans, honouring bookings up to the end of business. Owing to the longer lead times for some events, such as weddings, we are speaking to the people affected by this decision and we have assisted by sourcing availability across reputable and comparable venues.

We have not taken this decision lightly and would like to thank the management and staff at Chancellors for their hard work and commitment over the years. 

We hope that Chancellors in its new form will be a significant addition to the emerging high-quality student residences offer in Fallowfield, as this unique building enters a new phase in its life. 

Diana Hampson
Director of Estates and Facilities