Whitbread on £42m Scottish Surge

Whitbread PLC, the UK’s largest hotel and restaurant group, has announced its latest Premier Inn site acquisition for a new 210-bedroom hotel on West Nile Street (just off Sauchiehall Street) in Glasgow.

The deal with ING will see the vacant former office block converted into high-quality budget hotel accommodation, with investment from Whitbread and its developer partners in the region of £10.5m. The hotel is expected to create approximately 50 local jobs when open.

Whitbread is pursuing a strategy for sustainable growth in Scotland, investing in new pipeline sites and locations in order to extend its nationwide presence. The company currently has plans for nine new Premier Inns and restaurants for Scotland, representing investment in excess of £42.65 million and the creation of approximately 420 jobs. Once operational, these locations will increase the total number of Premier Inns in Scotland from 53 to 62.

The nine Scottish sites, currently under construction or in the development pipeline, are:

- Dalkeith, 40-room Premier Inn and Table Table restaurant
- Dumbarton, 60-room Premier Inn and Brewers Fayre restaurant
- Princes Street, Edinburgh, 97-bed Premier Inn with an integrated restaurant
- Edinburgh Park, West Edinburgh,120-bed Premier Inn with an integrated restaurant and Costa Coffee
- Edinburgh Airport, Newbridge, 119-bed Premier Inn hotel with an integrated restaurant
- Falkirk, 31-bed Premier Inn and Beefeater restaurant
- West Nile Street, Glasgow, 210-bed Premier Inn hotel with an integrated restaurant
- Huntley Street, Inverness, 100-bed Premier Inn hotel with an integrated restaurant
- Loch Ness House, Inverness, 76-bed Premier Inn and Beefeater restaurant

The nine hotels will be opening on a phased basis from Autumn 2010 and Spring 2012.

The sites include a mix of different ownership and development models, highlighting Premier Inn’s ability to offer a strong degree of flexibility. They include freehold own build sites as well as developer ‘turn key’ deals.

John Bates, Head of Acquisitions for Whitbread Hotels & Restaurants, said: “Premier Inn is the most successful budget hotel operator in the UK today and we want to ensure that ongoing success by investing in key locations – West Nile Street is one of these. We have identified significant opportunities to bring the quality and value of the Premier Inn proposition to a number of new target locations across Scotland. This latest investment is an essential part of that programme.”