University College Birmingham has acquired the former Cube Hotel and Marco Pierre White restaurant in Birmingham city centre as the first stage of a hospitality investment programme worth more than £15 million.
The university said the programme will create more than 150 jobs and give students opportunities to gain paid employment, apprenticeships and work placements in commercial hospitality businesses.
The Birmingham College of Food will take over the venues on the 23rd, 24th and 25th floors of The Cube. The hotel will reopen with 52 bedrooms, while the restaurant will also be redeveloped as part of the project.
Renovation and upgrading work is expected to take three to four months. The university said details on opening dates and recruitment will be announced as the venues progress towards completion. The hotel and restaurant originally opened in 2011 and stopped trading in June.
The investment programme also includes plans for a neighbourhood restaurant in Harborne and a café, restaurant and bar at the university’s Summer Row campus in Birmingham city centre. The existing Restaurant at Birmingham College of Food will also undergo a major refurbishment.
The venues will operate as commercial businesses while providing students studying hospitality, hotel management, culinary arts, business and events management with practical experience.
Recruitment has already begun for hospitality professionals to lead the new venues, with the university placing particular emphasis on attracting former students and alumni back into the sector.
Professor Michael Harkin, vice-chancellor and principal of University College Birmingham, said the acquisition represented a new phase of investment in the university and its learning facilities.
He said the university had invested more than £300 million across its campuses, Birmingham city centre and surrounding communities over the past five years.
David Cumberlidge, the university’s commercial director, said the acquisitions would allow students to work alongside experienced hospitality professionals in operating commercial venues.
The investment comes as the UK hospitality sector faces significant employment pressures. Analysis by UKHospitality of official employment figures found that almost 89,000 hospitality jobs had been lost since the autumn Budget, accounting for 53 percent of the 164,641 jobs lost across the UK economy during the same period.
The organisation has called for changes to business rates, employer National Insurance contributions and VAT to help hospitality businesses manage rising costs.
University College Birmingham said its new hospitality ventures would strengthen the local sector while creating opportunities for students and experienced professionals.
The university, which has more than 10,000 students, has a long history of hospitality education. Its Birmingham College of Food has trained numerous hospitality professionals and Michelin-starred chefs, while its restaurant has served customers since the 1960s.
The acquisition follows the opening of a culinary school in Chelmsley Wood providing free hospitality training for adults and young people entering the industry or returning to work.
The move also comes as Birmingham continues to attract investment. The EY 2026 UK Attractiveness Survey ranked the city as the second most sought-after UK destination outside London among companies planning to invest.
