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Whitbread, the parent company to Premier Inn, has announced the appointment of Jill Anderson as the new property acquisition manager.
The news of Anderson’s appointment comes as the company plans to expand Premier Inn in the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland by adding 125,000 bedrooms.
Anderson is said to bring more than 25 years of experience working in property acquisition and development.
Prior to joining Whitbread, she spent almost 10 years at Costa Coffee expanding the store estate in the south-west, preceded by similar roles at Tesco and Somerfield. She started her career in private practice in London and the north-east.
It is reported that Whitbread currently operates a network of 82,700 hotel rooms in the UK and Ireland with a further 8,875 bedrooms in its committed development pipeline.
In addition, the business is on course to open between 1,500 and 2,000 new Premier Inn rooms this financial year and will return to opening 2,000 to 3,000 rooms per year going forward.
According to Whitbread, its hotel bedroom supply is 4% lower than it was pre-pandemic, creating a “favourable” market backdrop and providing opportunities for Premier Inn to grow market share.
Derek Griffin, head of acquisitions for Premier Inn, said: “We are focused on maintaining our position as the UK’s number one hotel business. Our network of hotels is trading well and with the backing of Whitbread’s strong covenant and financial firepower we are well-placed to invest in growing our estate through the cycle and deliver long-term value for our shareholders.
“Adding Jill to our experienced team of in-house property acquisition managers demonstrates our continued appetite to expand the business and deliver the next generation of new locations for Premier Inn customers.”
Anderson added: “Having worked for Costa Coffee when it was owned by Whitbread, I am no stranger to the company. The culture and Top 100 Employer status attracted me back along with the opportunity of expanding the Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn brand at a time of focused growth and expansion.
“I have hit the ground running and am looking forward to building the pipeline of new hotels in the north of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Do reach out to discuss opportunities in these locations.”
