Criterion Capital, the real estate owner and platform operator, has bought the retail block that includes the former Debenhams on Princes Street, Edinburgh's main retail thoroughfare, for redevelopment as its first Zedwell Hotels site in Scotland.
The building at 109-112 Princes Street will be redeveloped as an 116,500-square-foot luxury hotel.
The Debenhams closed in 2021 when the department store chain collapsed into administration. Formerly owned by Legal & General, the City of Edinburgh Council has already approved plans for a £50 million, 210-room hotel development at the site.
Zedwell has three hotels in London, with another site set to open in Manchester in 2026.
Asif Aziz, founder and chief executive of Criterion Capital, said in a statement: "Opening our first hotel in Scotland is a significant step in our ambitious UK-wide expansion of our unique Zedwell hotel brand. Edinburgh’s rich history, cultural significance and strong tourism sector make it an ideal location for Zedwell. This project represents a fantastic addition to our committed pipeline of 22 hotels with over 7,000 rooms that, together with our expanding residential and commercial portfolios, will see our assets under management exceed £6 billion.”
Criterion said the street sees an average footfall of 300,000 pedestrians per week and its hotel will overlook the Edinburgh Castle and Princes Street Gardens.
It said its hotel is "pioneering" and "already thriving in central London locations". It describes Zedwell as providing a sleep-focused experience, with guest rooms named “cocoons” and equipped with noise-reducing walls, floors and doors, as well as "warm ambient lighting".
Kerr Young, head of UK national hotels transactions, capital markets, JLL, said: “Edinburgh remains the best performing hotel market in Europe and JLL are very excited to be facilitating the entry of a new hotel concept such as Zedwell to the market which will support the adaptive reuse of a strategically important property located in the heart of the city centre.”