Budget hotel chain Premier Inn has announced plans for four new hotels at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports, which will add a total of 1,570 rooms to the group’s portfolio.
The plans include a 400-room Heathrow T5 property and a further 240-room hotel at Heathrow’s T4, as well as 300-room property at Stansted, and a 630-room hotel attached to Gatwick’s North Terminal.
Subject to planning permission and other consents, Premier Inn will lease the properties from the Arora Family Trust, owners of several existing airport hotels including the upmarket Sofitel properties at Heathrow T5 and Gatwick’s North Terminal. Indeed if the plans go ahead Premier Inn will join Sofitel as the only properties directly attached to the North Terminal at Gatwick (Hilton and Yotel both have properties within the South Terminal).
Premier Inn’s owner Whitbread says the properties are due to open on a phased basis from autumn 2011, with the deals representing an investment in excess of £125 million. The chain already operates a number of properties at or around UK airports including Aberdeen, Bristol, East Midlands, Gatwick, Heathrow, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle and Southampton.
For more information visit premierinn.com, and click here for an interview with the group’s managing director Patrick Dempsey.
Report by Mark Caswell
