Construction of the hotel and conference venue for the Manchester Business School is scheduled to start next year.

The second and third phases will be built after to provide extra teaching and administrative homes for the school’s MBA programme. The final phase will include a resources and learning centre.

Professor Michael Luger, dean of Manchester Business School said: “Our ethos is about applying original thinking to make positive change and the new building, funded in part through pledges in excess of £2m from alumni of the School and local philanthropists, echoes this philosophy – both in its design and function.

“As we move towards our goal of becoming a truly world-class business school, the hotel and conference centre will provide an excellent base from which to explore Manchester and it will play a key role in attracting inward development to the city.”