The care and leisure group opened its first aparthotel in Newcastle three years ago. The Vermont Aparthotel, a luxury serviced apartment scheme on the Quayside, offers a butler service and Rolls Royce chauffeur to guests staying in the 11 apartments.

Now the firm is planning to invest £3 million in a 19-unit scheme at Grainger House, on the corner of Westgate Road and Clayton Street. Grainger House will be renamed the County Aparthotel. Work is under way with a 100-strong construction team converting the former office building into apartments.

Each unit will have a high-spec kitchen, living room, dining room and ensuite bathroom. A courtyard area is also being created, while the potential for a bar and restaurant on the ground floor is also being explored.

Five retail units on the ground floor will remain in place and the current entrance will become the main shared entrance to the apartments.

The County Aparthotel is expected to open this summer.