Premier Inn construction restarts in Scotland

Whitbread has confirmed it is reopening construction sites in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hamilton and Thurso as it looks to “safely” continue its plan to deliver a pipeline of new hotels in Scotland. The sites in question account for £55m of investment by the Premier Inn owner and its development partners. Work will now resume on a new “super-sized” 249-bedroom hotel in Glasgow’s St Enoch Square, a 136-bed hotel on Edinburgh’s Princes Street and a site in Thurso in the Scottish Highlands. More than 190 new permanent jobs are expected to be created at the four hotels when they open their doors this financial year, with the recruitment process at each site starting three months ahead of their opening. Whitbread has now implemented additional on-site measures to protect employees, the public and ensure social distancing once construction resumes. It comes as the Scottish Government confirmed on 18 June that construction sites can return to “steady state operations” with appropriate measures in place. Whitbread is now finalising the plans for a phased restart at each site. Alex Flach, UK development director at Whitbread, said: “We have been investing heavily in Scotland for years and these latest hotels continue our strategy of expanding Premier Inn in prime city centre locations, investing in regeneration schemes in well-connected towns and growing our network in popular tourist locations where we do not have a presence. “The Scottish Government has been clear that construction is important in helping the economy to bounce back from the crisis.” He added: “Before re-opening our sites in Scotland, we have been working closely with our development and construction partners to ensure we can continue to invest and deliver our new hotels whilst meeting the latest industry guidance on social distancing. “The sites look different, with fewer workers on-site at any one time, but we’re pleased to be back and progressing with the builds under the new working arrangements.” Earlier this month, Whitbread announced it was restarting work on 35 construction sites in England and Wales in line with public health and industry guidance. The business opened more than 2,300 new Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn bedrooms in the UK during the 2019-20 financial year, expanding its total national network to 821 hotels. It has 13,000 Premier Inn bedrooms in its secured pipeline in the UK and Ireland.