Whitbread opens 1,000 new Premier Inn rooms since March 2024
· The UK’s largest hotel business has opened seven new hotels since the start of its current financial year in March 2024
· The 1,000 new room milestone was reached by the opening of Premier Inn London Waterloo
· New prime locations in Central London, Cambridge, Torquay and York have opened in the financial year
· Expansion is part of Whitbread’s ambitious long-term goal of reaching 125,000 UK & Ireland bedrooms
Whitbread PLC, the parent company of the UK’s largest hotel brand Premier Inn, has added more than 1,000 new guest bedrooms to its growing UK network since March 2024 and the start of its FY24/25 financial year.
The 137-bedroom Premier Inn at London Waterloo (North Lambeth) in Central London took the business over the 1,000 new room milestone earlier this month, marking the third new hotel Premier Inn to open in the capital since spring last year.
In total, Whitbread has opened seven new Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn hotels in the past eleven months including new locations in Central London, Cambridge, Bristol, York, and Torquay, reflecting the company’s objective of expanding its estate in popular destinations across the UK.
Whitbread currently offers its UK customers a choice of more than 85,500 hotel rooms and believes there is the potential for 125,000 rooms in the United Kingdom and Ireland as it takes advantage of a favourable supply backdrop and the continued decline of independent hotels and guest houses.
Alex Flach, UK & Ireland Development Director, commented:
“The seven new Premier Inn hotels we have opened this financial year showcase Whitbread’s commitment to expanding our presence in desirable, high-demand locations across the UK and Ireland.
“All of these new openings, completed since March 2024, are leasehold developments – a testament to the strength and appeal of the Whitbread covenant among our development partners. Notably, three of these hotels were created through the conversion of vacant office buildings, a process that not only revitalises unused spaces but also prevents tonnes of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere during construction.
“As hotel development becomes ever more complex, Whitbread’s collaborative and flexible approach to identifying and delivering new development opportunities is more critical than ever. Growing our estate across the UK and Ireland remains a top priority for the business, and my team and I are eager to connect with potential partners to secure and deliver the next generation of Premier Inn hotels.”
The new hotels opened in Whitbread’s FY24/25 financial year so far include:
- Torquay Harbour: A 120-bedroom hotel, Premier Inn’s second in this iconic leisure destination, developed by the Torbay Council
- York (Layerthorpe): A 188-bedroom hotel boasting uninterrupted views of York Minster, a perfect blend of comfort and historic charm.
- Bristol Parkway (M32): A joint 103-bedroom Premier Inn and Beefeater restaurant catering to visitors of the University of the West of England campus and many large blue-chip businesses nearby.
- Paddington Station: An innovative dual-brand site bringing together Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn together with shared dining spaces, metres from the Elizabeth Line and national rail (369 bedrooms combined).
- Cambridge City Centre (Lion Yard): A prime 120-bedroom hotel repurposed from vacant office space above a bustling city centre shopping centre
- Lambeth North, London: A 137-bedroom hotel in the heart of cultural South London, offering skyline views and easy access to major attractions as well as Waterloo Station.
Whitbread has a detailed network plan for the UK and Ireland of locations where Premier Inn is either unrepresented or where there is potential to increase the brand’s presence. These include 40 target locations within the M25 – a strategically important growth market for the brand – as well as thirteen target locations in Ireland.
At time of publishing its FY24/25 half-year results (October 2024), Whitbread offered its customers a choice of more than 85,500 Premier Inn rooms from 855 locations across the UK & Ireland.
Beyond the UK, the business is growing strongly in Germany where it has built a network of more than 10,000 Premier Inn rooms across the country and is aiming to be the no.1 hotel operator in the country.
Find more on the target locations for Premier Inn in the UK and Ireland here: www.whitbread.com/property.
