Coronavirus: Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs offer their hotels to NHS and vow not to lay off any staff

Hotel Football and Stock Exchange will shut to public so healthcare workers can sleep amid Covid-19 pandemic

Former Manchester United team-mates Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs are set to temporarily close the two Manchester hotels they own, allowing NHS staff free access to the rooms to sleep amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The pair are shutting Hotel Football at Old Trafford and the Stock Exchange Hotel in Manchester city centre from 22 March so healthcare workers, who have been put under strain by the outbreak of Covid-19, can use the spaces to rest between shifts.

Neville and Giggs have said they will not make any staff redundant or place them on unpaid leave for the duration of the hotels’ closure.

“We have taken this decision as we believe in being proactive and decisive,” said Neville, who added that the hotels would reopen once the pandemic has passed.

“We feel that we have a responsibility to protect our team members and as shareholders we have put together the resources to put us in the best position to do this.

“Our company’s success is all down to our team and we feel it is critical that we look after everyone in these challenging times.

“We have been putting plans together for the past four weeks and have triggered various actions as things have developed.

“A key consideration in our plans was to try and support the wider community and more specifically our local NHS hospitals.

“By offering both our hotels without cost to the health service we hope that this gives some support to the healthcare professionals in a time when they need it.”