West Hotels, the newly formed hospitality division of West Properties, is planning to invest £250m in five new Manchester properties as part of a residential-led development scheme. The project includes a total of 11 hotels being built in Manchester, Leeds and London over the next seven years.

The first 250-bedroom hotel is being built as part of the Origin scheme in Manchester, which will also include 180 apartments, 62,000sq ft (5,759sq m) of office space and a range of retail stores, cafes, bars and restaurants.

Former Intercontinental Hotels executive Colin Roy has been brought in as director of the new division and has confirmed that the firm is in "lengthy discussions with a high-profile, luxury international hotel operator for the site."

The company has two more hotels in the pipeline for the Manchester-based Vivo development. The eight-hectare (9.7 acre) site will also host a health facility, landscaped public space, and commercial and retail units as well as residential apartments.

West Properties plans to submit a planning application to build two more hotels in Deansgate, Manchester to replace the Ramada Renaissance Hotel, purchased from Quintain Estates earlier this year.

So far the development schemes have been funded privately and designed by architect firm Ian Simpson.

Roy said that the number of hotels being built correlates with sites West Properties already owns and proposes to use as part of the larger mixed-use developments. West Properties recently purchased an eight acre site in Greenwich, London, and two sites in Leeds, and will be continuing its search for new locations.

Despite the economic climate Roy is confident about the venture: "The recent downturn has unquestionably created challenging market conditions but it has also created strong land buying opportunities," he said. Provided firms adjust their investment models in the interim to suit the new conditions, companies should remain confident."

The first of the 11 hotels is expected to be completed in 2010.