Room2 aparthotel Leeds funded by £46m forward deal as Lisbon Street regeneration moves to next phase

A £46 million forward funding deal has been secured for a 200-room Room2 aparthotel Leeds on the former International Swimming Pool site at Lisbon Street. Developers Marrico and Helios Real Estate agreed the deal with Aberdeen Investments. Caddick Construction has been appointed main contractor, with building work starting in May and completion targeted for spring 2028. The 16-storey scheme, designed by DLA Architecture, will be fully electric and powered by renewable energy.

What’s Being Built

The Room2 aparthotel Leeds will offer a mix of studio and suite accommodation designed for both short-break visitors and extended-stay guests — a model its operator, Lamington Group, calls a ‘hometel’. The ground floor will include a café and bar under Lamington’s Winnie’s brand, alongside meeting and events space, a gym, laundry facilities, and two retail concessions opening onto a central courtyard. The building has achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating and is designed to be net zero in both operational and embodied carbon.

The site has been vacant since the International Swimming Pool was demolished, and has been used as a car park since 2009. The hotel forms part of the wider Lisbon Street masterplan in Leeds’ West End, where Marrico and Helios have already delivered a 548-bed student accommodation scheme (Threadworks) and have plans for two further build-to-rent towers of 21 and 32 storeys comprising 578 apartments.

“This has been a highly collaborative process with Helios, Aberdeen, Room2 and Caddick Construction, alongside the wider design team. Securing funding is a significant milestone and we look forward to delivering another high-quality hotel in Leeds following the completion of Hyatt at Sovereign Square.”

— Scott Barnes, Development Director, Marrico

The Funding and the Track Record

The deal marks the second Leeds hotel delivered by the Marrico and Helios partnership, following the 305-bed Hyatt Hotel at Sovereign Square which was handed over to operator Aimbridge in early 2025.

For Room2’s operator Lamington Group, Leeds is part of a 2,000-key UK expansion pipeline. The brand positions itself as sustainability-led, holding B Corp certification. CEO Robert Godwin said the ambition is to deliver hotels that combine strong guest experiences with a responsible approach to hospitality.

Why this matters for Leeds

The Lisbon Street site has been a gap in the city’s West End since the swimming pool was demolished. A £46 million, 16-storey hotel filling that gap is significant in its own right. The forward funding deal from Aberdeen Investments signals institutional confidence in Leeds’ hospitality market at a time when the city’s hotel stock is growing rapidly.