Whitbread’s property and consultant team raise £67,500 for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity
35-strong team successfully complete National Three Peaks Challenge.
Whitbread’s property and consultant team have raised over £67,500 for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSH Charity) by successfully completing the famous National Three Peaks Challenge.
Walking 23 miles in 24-hours in July, the 35 strong team successful scaled the three highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales – a total elevation gain of 3,064 metres (10,052 ft) – to complete the challenge within the strictly timed deadline.
The walkers, who were made up of Whitbread’s acquisition and construction teams alongside representatives of Applied Energy, Axiom Architects, Baqus, Gilbert Ash, TowerEight and Simpson Associates, took on the challenge to raise funds for Whitbread’s long-term charity partner.
The donated money will help fund the new Sight and Sound Centre, supported by Premier Inn at Great Ormond Street Hospital which is currently under construction. The Sight and Sound Centre will be the first dedicated medical facility for children with sight and hearing loss in the UK.
Louise Woodruff, Acquisition Manager for Whitbread, Premier Inn’s parent company, who organised the challenge, commented:“We often say that Whitbread is larger than the sum of its parts. The business has a hugely successful and long-standing relationship with Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity and it feels wonderful to contribute towards their latest project with the team who help to secure, design, build and open new Premier Inn hotels across the country. We are extremely grateful to everyone who donated and helped us to raise such a significant amount of money for a fantastic cause.”
Whitbread has supported GOSH Charity as its national charity partner since 2012. Premier Inn team members, guests and suppliers across the country raised £7.5 million towards the Premier Inn Clinical Building, a seven-floor facility with spacious inpatient wards and state-of-the-art operating theatres, which was officially opened in January 2018.
In 2017 Whitbread committed to continue the partnership with GOSH Charity and raise a further £10 million towards a new Sight and Sound Centre at the Hospital.
When it opens in 2020 the new centre will be the UK’s first dedicated medical facility for children with sight and hearing loss. In one dedicated building, the centre will house specialist outpatient facilities for the Audiology and Ophthalmology departments including state-of-the-art soundproofed booths, an eye imaging suite, a dispensing optician and other testing facilities.
Sophie Powell-White, Head of Corporate Partnerships at GOSH Charity added:“Children and young people with sight and hearing conditions make up Great Ormond Street Hospital’s largest outpatient group. Having a new purpose-built building that is designed specifically to support their needs will be a major new addition to the hospital when it opens, and will transform the experience of patients, families and staff. We are extremely grateful for Premier Inn’s continued commitment to the centre, and thank every member of staff who took on this fundraising challenge for their incredible support too.”
A cheque for £67,520 was presented to GOSH Charity by Louise Woodruff, and the Whitbread Three Peaks team, on Monday 2nd September at the hospital.
Media contact
For Premier Inn contact James Anderson, Property Communications Manager, Whitbread on 07784 376888 / james.anderson@whitbread.com
For more information on Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity please contact Melissa Shelley – 0203 841 3185 / Melissa.Shelley@gosh.org
About Premier Inn
Premier Inn was named the UK’s top‐rated hotel chain for 2017 according to Which? With 800+ hotels and more than 76,000 bedrooms 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.
Across the estate, the average Trip Advisor score for Premier Inn hotels is 4.2. The business has 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.
Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity is the National Charity partner of Premier Inn and to date team members, guests and suppliers have reached the milestone of £10 million, which formed part of the funding towards the Premier Inn Clinical Building, officially opened by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge in January 2018.
Outside of the UK, Premier Inn’s expansion plans are focused on two key markets; Germany and the Middle East, with plans to expand in Ireland. Premier Inn opened its first hotel in Frankfurt in 2016 and the business has more than 6,000 Premier Inn bedrooms in its secured pipeline in Germany.
