Whitbread PLC, owners of the Premier Inn hotel brand that has more than 800 properties in the United Kingdom, has bought a freehold site on one of London’s main streets, The Strand, for an overall investment including constructions costs of approximately 200 million pounds sterling ($236 million).
Close to Charing Cross Station, The National Gallery and Trafalgar Square, which contains Nelson’s Column, the site has been earmarked to contain a Hub by Premier Inn hotel due to open in 2027, according to a news release.
The acquisition has been funded by Whitbread cash reserves.
According to CoStar, Hotel News Now's parent company, a 205-room, 11-floor Park Hyatt hotel had been planned for the site, due to have opened in 2023. In 2019, a planning decision was made to demolish the building on the site, which was bought by Indian real-estate company ABIL Group in 2018.
According to a 2018 news release from business advisory Savills, ABIL purchased the site for 90 million pounds sterling from BlackRock U.K. Property Fund.
Alison Brittain, Whitbread’s CEO, said the site is “in a prime position and is perfect for the Hub brand, which is continuing to perform well. The purchase reinforces our confidence in the long-term potential of the London market, the Hub by Premier Inn brand and the growth prospects of our [United Kingdom] business.”
The Hub by Premier Inn currently has 13 operating hotels with a combined 2,431 rooms.
The release accompanying the acquisition said, “Hub by Premier Inn is designed for locations in major cities where property prices are relatively high but, thanks to its smaller room format, is still able to generate attractive long-term returns whilst providing affordable rooms for guests.”