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Whitbread has added more than 1,000 new guest bedrooms to its 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 11 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.
The new hotels opened in Whitbread’s FY24/25 financial year so far include a 120-bedroom Premier Inn inTorquay Harbour; a 188-bedroom hotel in York; a joint 103-bedroom Premier Inn and Beefeater restaurant In Bristol Parkway; a Premier Inn hotel in Paddington Station; a 120-bedroom hotel in Cambridge; and a 137-bedroom hotel in Lambeth North, London.
The group now 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 as well as 13 target locations in Ireland.
Alex Flach, UK and Ireland development director, said: “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.”
