Therme Horizon appoints construction manager Sir Robert McAlpine to lead Therme Manchester development
by Helen Andrews | 11 Sep 2025
The site is expected to attract 1.7 million visitors in its first year / Therme Group
Therme Manchester is slated to open at TraffordCity in late 2028
Therme Group updated the cost of the project in February of this year to £415 million (US$521 million, €500 million)
It has risen from £175m (US$228.7m, €205.7m) when the plan was first announced in 2019
The 28-acre development is billed to be the biggest thermal pool complex in Europe under one roof
Construction management company Sir Robert McAlpine has been appointed to lead the development of the Therme Manchester project in the UK, which is slated to open at TraffordCity in late 2028.
Therme Horizon, the holding company valued for Therme Group and its private equity partner CVC Capital, will fund the development.
Therme Group updated the cost of the project in February of this year to £415 million (US$521 million, €500 million). It has risen from £175m (US$228.7m, €205.7m) when the plan was first announced in 2019.
The 28-acre development is billed to be the biggest thermal pool complex in Europe under one roof.
It will have indoor and outdoor botanical gardens, immersive art, more than 25 water slides, multiple steamrooms, a wave pool for children and families and what the company says will be the largest sauna area in the UK.
There will be three main experience spaces, called play, relax and restore.
Play
This space will be an area for family connection and fun in an indoor and outdoor setting. This is where there will be a wave pool, waterslides, outdoor beach, warm water pools, steamrooms and an area for red light therapy lounging.
Relax
A peaceful adults-only area, this section of the project will have saunas, indoor and outdoor pools, waterfall showers, mineral baths and steamrooms.
Restore
This is another adults-only area designed to offer health, nutrition and wellbeing therapies. Extended sauna experiences will be on offer, in addition to one-to-one consultations, spa therapies and functional technologies for personalised wellbeing.
Professor David Russell, CEO of Therme UK, said: "We are delighted to appoint Sir Robert McAlpine to support the management of construction for Therme Manchester.
“Their unrivalled expertise in delivering large scale, complex projects, along with a shared commitment to excellence, community and sustainability, makes them the ideal team to bring Therme Manchester to life,” added Russell. “We look forward to working together to deliver a project that will have a lasting positive impact on Greater Manchester and beyond."
The site is expected to attract 1.7 million visitors in its first year. In 2023 we reported that an independent study by PwC projected the resort will contribute over £4.5 billion to the UK economy – with most of the positive impact in the Greater Manchester area.
Therme Manchester
Construction management company Sir Robert McAlpine has been appointed to lead the development of the Therme Manchester project in the UK, which is slated to open at TraffordCity in late 2028. Therme Horizon, the holding company valued for Therme Group and its private equity partner CVC Capital, will fund the development. Therme Group updated the cost of the project in February of this year to £415 million (US$521 million, €500
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