Earlier this year the 1,000-year-old Royal Mint unveiled plans to develop a purpose-built visitor centre at its headquarters in Llantrisant.

May 2016 is the expected opening date when visitors will be able to take an escorted tour of the coin production areas, gaining first-hand knowledge of the manufacturing journey from concept to coin.

The new visitor centre will be an all year and all weather attraction and will be available for conferences and events as well as the guided factory experience.

The Royal Mint is located in Llantrisant in south Wales, three miles from the M4 at junction 34 and twelve miles from Cardiff.

Details: www.royalmint.com


Construction has begun developing a new luxury spa in the grounds of Mallory Court Hotel in Leamington Spa. Eden Hotel Collection, owners of Mallory Court Hotel, currently run Elan Spas at three of its eight properties but this is the first full-scale spa development that the group has undertaken.

The new spa, estimated to cost around £6million, is due to open at the end of 2016.

The Eden Hotel Collection comprises eight luxury hotels, restaurants and spas. They are Mallory Court, Leamington Spa; Buckland Tout-Saints Hotel, Devon; The Kings Hotel, Cotswolds; The Arden Hotel, Stratford-upon-Avon; Brockencote Hall Hotel, Worcestershire; The Greenway Hotel and Spa, Cheltenham; The Mount Somerset Hotel and Spa, Somerset and Bovey Castle, Dartmoor.

Details: www.mallory.co.uk

Lancaster Conferences, part of Lancaster University, have a range of excellent meeting facilities on their campus in Lancashire. These include three large meeting rooms with eleven breakout rooms, all adjacent to a four-star hotel just off the M6 motorway at junction 33. The University now has a new outpost in London. Lancaster Conferences Westminster is located in the heart of Westminster next to St James’s Park tube station.

Lancaster Conferences Westminster features four meeting rooms of various sizes. Each is air-conditioned and wi-fi is complimentary throughout. The Garnett Theatre is the largest meeting space seating up to 80 delegates theatre style, followed by the Hyde Room seating up to 25 delegates. Two smaller boardrooms complete the package. Wide screen televisions, projectors and laptops, DVD players, white boards and pens are available in all rooms. A lectern with an integrated PA system is available in the Garnett Theatre. Rooms are bookable by the day or half-day.

Catering includes breakfast packages and working lunch options.

Lancaster Conferences Westminster is a ten minute walk from London Victoria station.

Details: www.lancaster.ac.uk

Later in November Lancaster Conferences will be launching their new Delegate Registration Package designed to take the hassle out of delegate registration with a dedicated website and support team. Details


NH Hotel Group is bringing its new ‘nhow’ brand to London.

NH Hotel Group claims that nhow is the ‘chameleonic hotel brand that adapts itself to the city where it is located and is always changing. Taking its inspiration from the most avant-garde cities in the world and designed by Norman Foster´s studio'.

nhow London will be located in a 5.5 acre mixed-use new development at ‘250 City Road’ in London's tech-city district around Silicone Roundabout and Old Street. The eight-storey hotel will feature 190 bedrooms, a restaurant, bar, gym and meeting rooms. It is expected to open in 2019.

Existing nhow Hotels are located in Milan, Berlin, Rotterdam with projects under development in Santiago de Chile and Amsterdam.

Details: www.corporate.nh-hotels.com


Developers have been granted planning permission to build a new hotel together with student accommodation and retail outlets in the centre of Newcastle on Tyne.

The existing Newgate Shopping Centre will be demolished to make way for the 270-bedroom hotel.

Newgate Shopping Centre, which runs between Grainger Street, Clayton Street and Falconer’s Court in central Newcastle opened in 1969 but the majority of the units are now vacant.

Details: www.constructionenquirer.com