Financial restructuring secures hotel future

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has approved a financial restructuring of the Hilton Garden Inn at Smithfield in a move aimed at securing the long-term future of the city centre hotel.

The authority has agreed measures which give it the option of providing additional capital and converting its own debt into equity to rebalance the hotel’s finances over the longer term.

The decision comes as the latest accounts for Genr8 Smithfield Hotel Limited show the business has a substantial property asset alongside significant long-term borrowing.

The council’s financial involvement in the hotel dates back to the previous Tory/City Independents administration, which provided loans in 2017 and 2018 worth a total of £6.9million to support the development. 

But the council’s 2024/25 accounts state that Stoke-on-Trent City Council had an outstanding loan of £9.621 million to Genr8 Smithfield Hotel Ltd at 31 March 2025.

Hilton Garden Inn was originally developed as part of the wider Smithfield regeneration programme to help address a shortage of high-quality hotel accommodation in Stoke-on-Trent.