Premier Inn owner Whitbread has completed deals for five new sites that will provide 450 bedrooms as the company embarks on a planned £575m spending spree for the year.
The company has bought three freehold sites and committed to a further two leaseholds, a total investment of £37m.
In November, the company committed to increase its capital expenditure for 2015 to £575m to achieve its target of operating 75,000 bedrooms by 2018.
John Bates, Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants’ head of acquisitions (provinces), said the five deals, all of which closed in a 24-hour period, represented a flying start to 2015.
“Subject to planning permission, we’ll be able to offer more high-quality locations and make further substantial investments in our estate,” he said.
The freehold deals include the £6.5m purchase of a site in Truro, Cornwall, where it plans to build a 75-bedroom Premier Inn; a three-acre site in Minehead, Somerset, with plans for a 100-bedroom hotel and Brewers Fayre restaurant for £8.9m; and the former Strand Hotel in Bude, Cornwall, for £5m with plans for a 55-bedroom hotel.
The leaseholds are a £10.6m mixed-use scheme in Slough, Berkshire, with plans for a 133-bedroom hotel; and the £6.4m West Parade site in Rhyl, North Wales, which has plans for a 70-bedroom hotel and Brewers Fayre restaurant.
