Birmingham-based restaurateur Pat McDonald is looking for a new property to build a 20-40 room boutique hotel in the city centre.
The former one-Michelin-starred chef is also searching for a site for his Epicurean restaurant and has said he is considering combining the two projects.
The 30-seat Epicurean in Pershore, Worcestershire, closed in January and McDonald has yet to find a new site. He is in talks with two parties to back the hotel but said there was no time-scale for its development.
McDonald has also bought the Mailbox site, which he has held under management contract for the past year, for an undisclosed sum. Denial will be renamed Fino and converted into a modern Italian caf‚-restaurant opening next month.