English Lakes Partnership with Urban Splash

On 8 April 2009, we began a partnership with Urban Splash to manage The Midland Hotel in Morecambe. The agreement brought the restored Art Deco hotel into the English Lakes portfolio and gave us our first seaside location. Urban Splash retained ownership of the property, while English Lakes assumed responsibility for its hotel management and worked with the owner to promote both The Midland and Morecambe. The Midland had reopened in June 2008 after an extensive restoration by Urban Splash. The 44-bedroom hotel, overlooking Morecambe Bay, is a prominent example of 1930s architecture and retained important original features during its restoration. By the time our partnership began, the project had already received recognition for its architecture and conservation. For English Lakes, taking on The Midland extended our hospitality operations beyond our existing Lake District and north Lancashire properties and into a coastal setting for the first time. We went on to manage the hotel for around a decade.