Veriu CEO Zed Sanjana has announced that the first Veriu-branded Melbourne property will open adjacent to the city’s iconic Queen Victoria Market.

The new-build hotel is slated to open in late 2022 as part of respected Melbourne-based developer PDG Corporation’s major renewal of the Queen Victoria Market.

Along with the hotel, the project includes the City of Melbourne’s largest community hub – facilities such as childcare, family services and an underground car-park, complemented by fine-grain retail and a limited number of residences.

The new retail space will benefit from 140 years of on-site trading history, integrating market legacy with modern laneways that provide new entry points to one of Melbourne’s most well-travelled precincts.

The Queen Victoria Market hotel is the second new hotel announcement since former Quest CEO Sanjana became the boss of Veriu Group in September 2018.

Veriu has also revealed word of a new 95-key neighbourhood hotel in Collingwood, with more details to follow in the coming months.

The brand’s push into the Melbourne market began in 2018 with the purchase of the Punthill Apartment Group.

Since this acquisition, Veriu have announced two new Punthill-branded properties; Ivanhoe in partnership with Cayden, and Alphington in partnership with Alpha Partners.

Back in its home state of New South Wales, Veriu will open a 144-key apartment hotel in Green Square this July. This property is a joint venture with Charter Hall.

“We have taken the opportunity to partner with top tier developers like Charter Hall and PDG Corporation to help to expand our network across the Australian market,” Sanjana said.

“We see wonderful opportunities in the market currently to become a key amenity component to larger mixed-use developments like Queen Victoria Market, which brings much-needed community infrastructure and facilities to the neighbourhood.”

In further news for the group, Veriu is set to divest its Sydney Central property, one of four high-performing Sydney properties. The sale will be handled by Colliers, and the new owners will have the opportunity to lease the hotel back to Veriu on a long-term basis.

“Veriu’s sale of Veriu Central will enable us to free up capital to invest in our national expansion plans for both Punthill and Veriu over the course of the next five years,” Sunjana said.

“We have plans to focus on new-build hotel leasing opportunities in CBD, suburban and regional markets across Australia under both our Punthill and Veriu brands.

“It will also enable Veriu to focus on delivering its two development sites at 323 George St Sydney and 822 George St, Chippendale.”

Veriu has a further two hotel sites in addition to Collingwood and Queen Victoria Market in the Melbourne pipeline, with a further five to six locations within inner suburban areas.

The group plans to add 500-plus keys to the Victorian market over the next five years within unique neighbourhood locations like Carlton, Prahran, Richmond, Windsor, South Yarra, South Melbourne, as well as Melbourne’s CBD.

Nationally, there are a further 10 sites in the pipeline across Sydney, Perth and Adelaide.

“We are currently targeting to open between 20 and 30 hotels under the Veriu brand over the next 10 years with a focus on interesting neighbourhoods that meet our brands criteria” Sanjana said.

Veriu’s current Sydney portfolio includes Veriu Broadway and Veriu Camperdown.

“Our network roll-out is focused on creating more unique and interesting accommodation experiences for our customers in CBD and suburban neighbourhoods,” Sanjana said.

“Travellers these days, whether for work or leisure, are more curious about their local surrounds – whether its art, cuisine or culture.

“Veriu are a bespoke collection of hotels, each unique, all designed to connect our guests with the true character of the local neighbourhoods they inhabit. Veriu Queen Victoria Market will be a great example of this.”