Premier Inn owner Whitbread has started construction on a 693-room hotel in one of London’s most famous streets.
The site at 5 Strand, close to Trafalgar Square in central London, will be turned into a hub by Premier Inn, which will become one of the largest budget hotels in the UK capital when it opens in 2028.
Whitbread is spending a total of £200 million on the project to build a 13-storey hotel on the site of a former office block.
Hester King, Whitbread’s project and programme manager, called the start of construction a “major milestone” for the company and a “defining moment in the evolution of our hub by Premier Inn brand”.
Hub by Premier Inn offers smaller rooms – around half the size of standard Premier Inn rooms – with locations in the centre of major cities. The first property opened in nearby Covent Garden in 2014.
“This flagship development – just metres from Trafalgar Square and Charing Cross Station – demonstrates our ability to secure, design and deliver high-quality hotels in London’s most complex and sought-after locations,” added King.
“It reflects the breadth of our in-house expertise and Whitbread’s long-term commitment to growing its affordable hotel brands in the capital where branded budget hotels are in short supply.”
Whitbread said that the new hotel would be designed to run solely on electricity generated from renewable sources, as part of its Force for Good sustainability programme, which is aiming to reduce carbon emissions from direct operations (Scope 1 and 2) to zero by 2040.