Whitbread Given Approval to Build Budget Hotel Near Nelson’s Column
11/10/24
Whitbread PLC, the UK's largest hotel business and owner of Premier Inn, has secured planning permission from Westminster City Council (WCC) to develop a hotel at 5 Strand in the heart of central London.
The 693-bedroom hotel, which will be one of London's largest budget hotels when it opens, will be operated under the popular 'hub by Premier Inn' brand on a prime site off Trafalgar Square, metres from Nelson's Column.
Whitbread acquired the development site freehold as part of its strategy to expand its presence in the popular London market where a significant proportion of Premier Inn's future UK rooms pipeline is located.
The £200m+ investment, which includes construction and related costs, underlines the company's commitment to the hub by Premier Inn brand which is designed to bring Premier Inn's affordable hotel bedrooms into the heart of London and other major UK cities.
Mark Anderson, Managing Director for Property and International at Whitbread, said: "hub by Premier Inn was launched a decade ago in St. Martin's Lane, a few hundred metres from 5 Strand.
"The brand has blossomed into a network of 18 popular hub hotels in Central London and Edinburgh and has become a proven model for bringing our affordable bedrooms into the most central, vibrant, and connected locations for our guests.
"5 Strand is an excellent example of how we think the hub by Premier Inn brand can evolve in Central London. It also shows how we can use Whitbread's strong balance sheet to acquire the best positioned, most accessible, and high-demand locations in the capital to grow our brands.
"With planning permission now secured we will move quickly to begin construction of the new hotel and deliver a true flagship location for our guests."
The consented 16,000 sq m hotel at 5 Strand will be set over 13 storeys with a generous ground-floor space fronting onto the Strand and Northumberland Street to the east of the site. Whitbread expects around 150 team will work at the hotel on opening, with recruitment focused within the City of Westminster and other inner London boroughs.
hub by Premier Inn hotels offer compact hotel bedrooms – approximately half the size of a 'standard' Premier Inn room – with a contemporary design style, a focus on technology and a relaxed 'Lounge' style food and beverage offering.
In line with Whitbread's commitment to managing its direct emissions to zero by 2040 (scopes 1 and 2) the hub by Premier Inn at 5 Strand will be powered solely by electricity generated by renewable sources.