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Whitbread has secured a second location for Premier Inn in Cork, having purchased the site of the Leisureplex entertainment complex in the Victorian Quarter of the city for an undisclosed sum.
News of the acquisition comes after Whitbread opened its first Cork Premier Inn, a 187-bedroom riverfront hotel that created 40 new jobs, on 29 January.
The group intends to redevelop its newly-acquired property into a 168-bedroom Premier Inn hotel, planning permission allowing.
As it works up its plans and brings forward a planning application for the development, Whitbread has confirmed that the entertainment complex will remain open and continue to trade.
Matt Gent, development manager for Whitbread in Ireland, said: “Cork is a hugely successful city with thriving business, education, research, and visitor economies. Paradoxically, It is also under-served by the type of affordable, flexible, and family-friendly hotel accommodation that Premier Inn provides so well.
“We recently opened a new Premier Inn at Morrisons Quay to the south of Cork City and investing in a second location to the east of the city centre underlines our confidence in Cork as a visitor destination and secures another well-positioned hotel for our guests to enjoy in Ireland.”
Across Ireland, Whitbread currently offers guests more than 1,000 Premier Inn bedrooms from six trading locations in Dublin and Cork.
According to Whitbread, there is potential for around 3,500 Premier Inn bedrooms across Ireland in time.
