WHITBREAD IS SPENDING more than £100 million on six new Premier Inns - three of them new-builds - in London. The investment, with one eye firmly fixed on the 2012 Olympics, will make the budget brand the largest hotel group in the capital.
The company has paid £18.5 million for the Quality Hotel in Westminster, the Comfort Inn in Kensington, and the Purple Hotel in the City, which between them add up to 400 extra rooms.
A further £12 million will go on converting them to the Premier brand.
As a separate venture, Whitbread is building three further properties - in Waterloo, Ealing, and the City- in a £70 million investment. All three are slated to open by 2011.
The new-builds, coupled with extensions to existing Premier Inns, will add a further 800 rooms to the portfolio. Further developments, adding another 2,000 rooms, will be announced over the next year.
Whitbread chief executive Alan Parker said "We have exciting expansion plans for Premier Inn in London. The capital is an important focus for Premier Inn, and there is an increasing need for high quality, affordable accommodation. Our pipeline will position us as the largest hotel chain in London with at least 8,500 rooms before the Olympics in 2012."
Premier's expansion is not restricted to the capital, however. This month sees openings in Bishop Auckland, Llanelli and Reading, with properties in Bournemouth, Liskeard, Rhuddlan and Torquay following in June.