Britannia Hotel Wigan, Almond Brook (Standish)
The Britannia Hotel at Almond Brook sits on the edge of Standish, about three miles north of Wigan town centre. From around 2016 it was used by Home Office contractor Serco to house up to 200 single adult male asylum seekers, making it one of the longest running Britannia chain asylum sites in the North West before it closed to asylum use in July 2024[1]Press.
Capacity
200
single adult male residents at peak
Per night
£170
per resident
Annual
£12m
estimated
Background
The Almond Brook Britannia is a large three star country style hotel set just off junction 27 of the M6, in the village of Standish on the northern edge of the Wigan borough. It is part of the Britannia chain owned by Alex Langsam.
From around 2016 the hotel was withdrawn from public booking and used by Home Office contractor Serco to house up to 200 single adult male asylum seekers under the North West regional contract. Wigan Council confirmed in a September 2023 FAQ that the borough was hosting asylum seekers in two contingency hotels under contracts held by Serco, naming the Almond Brook Britannia as one of them[4]Council.
MP intervention
The use of the Almond Brook Britannia as an asylum hotel was raised repeatedly with the Home Office by the local MP. In a November 2023 statement, then Wigan MP Lisa Nandy confirmed she had taken the case to Parliament, citing concerns about the scale of the site, the single adult male population profile, and the limited integration support around it[3]Press.
The hotel was later cited in coverage of the Greater Manchester and Lancashire wave of asylum hotel closures during the 2024 Channel crossings drawdown.
July 2024 closure and refurbishment
In July 2024 Wigan Today reported that the Almond Brook Britannia would close to asylum seekers, making it the second Wigan area Britannia hotel to exit the Home Office estate alongside Kilhey Court at Worthington[1]Press.
A follow up Wigan Today business piece reported that the hotel had since undergone a major refurbishment and relaunched to the public as a full service three star property[2]Press.
Cost analysis
At the £170 per person per night Migration Observatory benchmark[5]and a peak headcount of 200 residents, the Almond Brook Britannia implies headline taxpayer exposure of around £34,000 per night and roughly £12.4 million per year at full occupancy. Across the eight year asylum period that puts cumulative spend at up to about £100 million, although actual run rate would have varied with occupancy. The May 2025 NAO contract review put the average per hotel run rate across the wider portfolio at about £5.84 million per year[6]NAO.
Per-person per-day cost stack (benchmark)
£170- Hotel rate (room + three meals)£10059%
- Weekly cash allowance£74%
- Legal aid & casework£127%
- NHS / interpreter / utilities£1911%
- Contractor / security overhead£3219%
Cost in context
Britannia Almond Brook (closed)
£170
closed-period benchmark
UK asylum hotel avg
£170
NAO
Wigan budget hotel
£55
commercial
Hostel bed
£30
commercial
Timeline
Timeline
Pre-2016
Operates as a commercial Britannia chain country style hotel at Almond Brook on the edge of Standish
2016
Brought into asylum use
Serco North West regional contract begins housing up to 200 single adult male asylum seekers.
Sep 2023
Wigan Council FAQ
Council publishes FAQ confirming the borough was hosting asylum seekers in two contingency hotels under Serco.
Nov 2023
Lisa Nandy MP raises case
Then Wigan MP confirms she had taken the Almond Brook Britannia case to Parliament and the Home Office.
Jul 2024
Closure to asylum use
Britannia Almond Brook becomes the second Wigan area asylum hotel to exit the Home Office estate.
2024-2026
Major refurbishment and relaunch
Hotel completes refurbishment and relaunches to the public as a commercial three star property.
Sources
- Wigan community's second hotel to close to asylum seekers — Wigan Today, Jul 2024
Wigan Today reports the Britannia Hotel at Almond Brook, Standish, will stop housing asylum seekers in July 2024 after eight years of contingency contract use under Serco.
- Former Wigan asylum seeker hotel undergoes huge makeover — Wigan Today, 2024
Wigan Today reports the Britannia Hotel at Almond Brook reopened to the paying public after a major refurbishment, having previously housed up to around 200 single adult male asylum seekers under the Serco North West regional contract.
- Lisa Nandy MP statement on Britannia Hotel asylum seeker use — Lisa Nandy MP (Labour Wigan), Nov 2023
Statement by then Wigan MP Lisa Nandy confirming she had raised the use of the Britannia Hotel at Almond Brook for asylum accommodation in Parliament and with the Home Office, citing concerns about scale and integration.
- FAQ: People seeking asylum in Wigan — Wigan Council, Sep 2023
Wigan Council FAQ confirming the borough was hosting asylum seekers in two contingency hotels (the Britannia at Almond Brook and Kilhey Court) under contracts held by Serco for the Home Office.
- Asylum accommodation in the UK — Migration Observatory, University of Oxford, Aug 2025
£170 per person per day in hotels (2024/25 average); used for per-hotel estimates and food/utilities breakdowns.
- The Home Office's asylum accommodation contracts — National Audit Office, May 2025
222 hotels in use; £1.296 billion annual (2024/25); per-hotel approximately £5.84 million.