Vermilion submits £3m expansion plans

Plans for a £3m expansion to the Thai and Indian restaurant Vermilion & Cinnabar in east Manchester have been submitted.

Parent company Seamark proposes a new banqueting hall capable of hosting weddings, conferences and exhibitions for as many as 800 guests.

The project is being led by Manzur Ahmed, who is the son of Seamark founder Iqbal Ahmed.

Manzur Ahmed, managing director of Vermilion & Cinnabar, said: "Because of the lack of appropriate space at Vermilion, we have been turning away increasing numbers of potential customers, who are seeking the Vermilion restaurant experience replicated for large-scale events.

"We always try to set different standards in our marketing, recruitment, training, service, design and food; to push innovation throughout the entire organization; it keeps the evening for guests more exciting and personal.

"Our aim is to create a brand people in Manchester can really be proud of at an international level."

"This is a very exciting development. The increased opulence of the new venue will reflect the power of the corporate Vermilion brand.

"We are working with Manchester City Council on the plans and hope to gain planning consent before the end of 2010."

Ahmed added that the banqueting hall is the first in a series of new initiatives planned to further develop Vermilion's popularity and trade.

The hall is being designed by Portuguese designer Miguel Cancio Martins, who was responsible for Vermilion & Cinnabar's interiors.

The £5m Vermilion & Cinnabar restaurant opened on Hulme Hall Lane in Ancoats three years ago and attracts more than 2,000 customers a week.

Seamark has become a £125m-plus global business operating a cash and carry operation, supplying the catering trade, and imports, processes and exports food from its cold storage and distribution centre in east Manchester.