THE company behind a Bradford hotel has been boosted by almost £10 million worth of funding.

Peel Hotels has re-financed its nine-strong group with cash from Allied Irish Bank (GB) (AIB (GB)).

The company has developed a group of hotels around the UK, with an annual turnover of almost £17m and around 500 employees.

The deal with AIB (GB) includes a £9.9m five-year term loan, which will support the group’s ongoing programme of refurbishments and improvements, as well as branch banking services for the hotels. The company previously had a similar arrangement with Royal Bank of Scotland.

Robert Peel, who set up Peel Hotels in 1998 alongside his brother Charles, said Midland Hotel will continue to be at the forefront of its business.

He said: “It’s been a tough trading year, in Bradford a lot of brand new hotels have opened.

“We do not compromise on standards and we have spent money on the bedrooms at the Midland Hotel.

“This announcement means we will increase our capital expenditure by ten per cent next year. We will continue to renovate our properties.

“The Midland Hotel is a beautiful building. Our strategy as a group it is keep going forward, never back, every year.

“I’ve known AIB (GB) personally for around 15 years and have always had a very good relationship with my contact James O’Donnell and his colleagues there.

“AIB (GB) also has a great deal of hospitality sector expertise, so they understand the nuances of my business, which is a real benefit. I’m looking forward to working with them in the years ahead.”

The original Midland Hotel was built in 1885 and included 115 bedrooms.

A host of famous faces have stayed at the site including Laurel and Hardy, The Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Almost every Prime Minister up to Harold Wilson stayed in the hotel.

Trish McNicholas, senior relationship manager at Allied Irish Bank (GB), said: “Robert is a very well-respected and well-known hotelier with a proven track record built up over five decades in the business.”

Peel Hotels started with the Bull Hotel in Peterborough and now also includes the Caledonian Hotel, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; Cosmopolitan Hotel, Leeds; Crown & Mitre Hotel, Carlisle; George Hotel, Wallingford; King Malcolm Hotel, Dunfermline; Norfolk Hotel, Bournemouth and the Strathdon Hotel, Nottingham.