Whitbread Completes £52m Forward Funding Deal on New Shoreditch Hub by Premier Inn
Latest investment deal demonstrates appetite for Whitbread-let and operated sites.
Whitbread has completed a c. £52 million forward funding investment deal for its new hub by Premier Inn which is under construction in Shoreditch, East London.
The deal with an un-named UK pension fund follows three recent forward funding deals on new hotels at Kings Cross, Westminster and Farringdon.
As Whitbread expands its Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn estate with a growth milestone target of 85,000 total UK and Ireland bedrooms by 2020 (up from approximately 70,000 today), it is pursuing selected opportunities to recycle capital and deploy investment where it can optimise returns.
Expansion in London where Whitbread is looking for 18-20,000 total bedrooms by 2020 is a key aspect of the growth strategy with further opportunities sought across the capital.
Simon Hobbs, Estates Director for Whitbread Hotels & Restaurants, said: “We’re unlocking value from freehold assets through investment deals like this latest example at Shoreditch and ensuring we maximise return on invested capital. By building excellent and well-located hotels and structuring deals around our proven Whitbread covenant, we can make our estate work hard for the benefit of our customers and our shareholders.”
Whitbread will develop the hotel over the next 24 months with hub by Premier Inn leasing the hotel from completion. The yield to the fund on completion of the development is approximately 3.9%.
This September, Whitbread opened its latest hub by Premier Inn hotel at Westminster Abbey (Tothill Street, SW1). There are now six hub by Premier Inn hotels open in London plus two in Edinburgh.
BNP Paribas Real Estate advised Whitbread. Gerald Eve represented the Pension Fund.
About Premier Inn
Premier Inn was named the UK’s top-rated travel brand 2016 and the top-rated hotel chain for 2016 according to Which? With over 750 budget hotels and 70,000 rooms across the UK and Ireland, Premier Inn guests are never far from a great night’s sleep at fantastic value rates. Premier Inn hotels are in more locations than any other UK hotel brand for the ease and convenience of leisure and business travellers alike.
All Premier Inn bedrooms feature en-suite bathrooms, a luxurious Hypnos® bed, a choice of pillows, TV with Freeview and free Wi-Fi. A bar and restaurant is situated either on-site or next door to each hotel, offering a wide range of food and drink including a delicious all-you-can-eat breakfast.
Guests who book direct through the Premier Inn website are able to enjoy Premier Inn Saver rates. The lowest price is available at premierinn.com (terms and conditions apply).
In the past year, almost 90% of Premier Inn hotels achieved a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence. Premier Inn has also been awarded the Best UK Family Hotel in the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards, Best UK Hotel Group in the Silver Travel Awards and the Business In The Community Environmental Leadership Award. 2016 has also seen Premier Inn voted Best UK Economy Hotel at the British Travel Awards and Best UK Hotel Group in the National Geographic Traveller UK Reader Awards.
Premier Inn employs over 19,000 team members and is part of Whitbread PLC which this year celebrates its 275th Anniversary as a great British business. Whitbread PLC achieved 8th place in The Sunday Times Best Big Companies to Work for in 2017, an accolade awarded as the result of direct team member feedback.
Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity is the National Charity partner of Premier Inn and to date team members, guests and suppliers have raised over £7 million, which is going towards the opening of the Premier Inn Clinical Building, due to be completed in Autumn 2017.
Outside of the UK, Premier Inn’s expansion plans are focused on two key markets, Germany and the Middle East. Premier Inn opened its first hotel in Frankfurt earlier this year and also operates hotels across the United Arab Emirates.
For more information, please contact:
Emily Barnes / Richard Pia at Camargue on 020 7636 7366 / whitbread@camargue.uk
