Criterion to redevelop Edinburgh Debenhams store

Asif Aziz’s Criterion Capital has acquired the former Debenhams department store at 109-112 Princess Street in Edinburgh with plans to open its first Zedwell hotel in Scotland. The deal will mark another addition to Criterion’s own hotel brand following the opening of several London sites. Last week, Criterion was granted permission from Westminster council to convert a former Mini showroom to a Zedwell hotel. JLL advised the vendor on the deal. Kerr Young, JLL’s head of UK national hotels transactions, said: “Edinburgh remains the best performing hotel market in Europe and JLL are very excited to be facilitating the entry of a new hotel concept such as Zedwell to the market, which will support the adaptive reuse of a strategically important property located in the heart of the city centre.”