The deals are part of Premier Inn’s on-going national expansion plans, creating more than 285 new jobs in the region. The Whitbread-owned budget hotel operator has a target of growing its UK bedrooms by 45 per cent – from 52,000 bedrooms today to 72,000 by 2018.
The seven new sites, subject to planning permission, are: -
- Aberystwyth: The former Bay hotel on Aberystwyth seafront will be renovated into a new 62-bedroom Premier Inn hotel and restaurant.
- Barrow: An 80-bedroom Premier Inn hotel and 150-cover Brewers Fayre restaurant will be built on North Road, next to the Dock Museum.
- Blackburn: A 60-bedroom Premier Inn hotel and restaurant located in the Cathedral Quarter.
- Leek: A new 60-bedroom Premier Inn hotel and restaurant on Ashbourne Road, which will improve the important environment around the Nicholson War Memorial
- Hanley: A 100-bedroom freehold self-build Premier Inn hotel and 190-cover Brewers Fayre restaurant on Etruria Road.
- Wigan: An 83-bedroom Premier Inn hotel and restaurant, which has BPRA backing.
- Wrexham:An 83-bedroom Premier Inn hotel and restaurant on Regent Street, near the town centre.
Premier Inn has 250 target locations for new hotels across the country. Since March 2012, Whitbread has created more than 3,000 new jobs across the country and plans to create 12,000 new roles over the next five years as it expands its Premier Inn, restaurant and Costa brands.
New milestone
John Bates, head of acquisitions in the UK and Ireland for Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, said: “Premier Inn is one of the UK’s top brands and most successful businesses and we are expanding across the country on the back of increasing customer demand.
“Last year the business sold 14 million Premier Inn bedrooms and opened more than 4,200 new rooms – impressive performance in a difficult economy. Given this success, we recently set a new milestone: to grow Premier Inn in the UK by 45 per cent to around 75,000 bedrooms by 2018.
“We are continually on the lookout for top quality sites to add to our existing network and we’re investing in projects right across the North West. These new locations are great examples of the flexibility and adaptability Premier Inn can bring to secure the right site.
“With our Whitbread covenant and are ability to attract guests into an area, Premier Inn is the perfect partner for regeneration projects and to boost local economies – as shown by the BPRA support for our development in Wigan.