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Whitbread PLC, the parent company to Premier Inn, has strengthened its London development team with the appointment of Sam Murphy as project and programme manager.
The appointment is the fifth new hire into Whitbread’s development team this calendar year as the company continues to invest in its UK and Ireland expansion programme.
Starting his career in property agency, Murphy rose up the ranks of “leading” global property consultancies before joining Whitbread.
He brings 18 years of development and project management to the Project and Programme Manager role.
Reporting to Whitbread’s head of construction (London and South), Murphy will lead the delivery of the newbuild Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn hotels within the capital and the wider south-east.
The company currently operates more than 100 Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn hotels within the M25 and is targeting a further 40 locations across the capital where it wishes to be represented or strengthen its existing presence.
Whitbread currently offers its customers a choice of more than 85,500 Premier Inn bedrooms across the UK and Ireland and believes there is the long-term potential in these key markets for 125,000 bedrooms.
The company is on track to deliver a network of 98,000 open rooms by FY30 by building out its committed and future pipeline, as well as 3,500 extension bedrooms on its existing trading estate.
In the capital, the company is currently onsite or is in the advanced stages of planning at three central London locations and recently secured planning permission for its giant 693-bedroom hub by Premier Inn development on The Strand which is expected to commence in 2025.
Murphy’s appointment rounds off a busy year of expansion in Whitbread’s property team. During the calendar year the company has added a total of five appointments to its UK and Ireland property team in a variety of roles all focused on expanding Whitbread’s hotel estate.
Simon Lancaster, head of construction for Whitbread in London, said: “London is a very attractive market for Premier Inn and our sister brand hub by Premier Inn. Our established network of trading hotels performs well and we see significant headroom to grow budget brands make up a smaller proportion of the market in London compared to the UK as a whole we see significant headroom to grow.
“Sam’s appointment strengthens our busy team of project managers who are focused on delivering the next generation of Premier Inn hotels for our customers. He will be hitting the ground running, working directly on our pipeline of freehold and leasehold construction projects across the capital and advising our in-house property acquisition team on the deliverability of new hotel developments. It is a challenging and important role and I’m looking forward to working with him on some of our most significant pipeline developments.”
