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Premier Inn secures 400-bedroom hotel in east London

12 Dec 2018 Estate

Canary Wharf Westferry Premier Inn Cgi 715x402px

Premier Inn announced as occupier of new 28-storey hotel at Canary Wharf gateway

Premier Inn has confirmed it will occupy a new 400-bedroom hotel in Westferry, east London, in what will be one of the largest Premier Inn hotels in the UK.

Whitbread, Premier Inn’s parent company, will take a 30-year lease of the hotel and restaurant within the 30-storey mixed-use scheme which is at the gateway to Canary Wharf, next to Westferry DLR station. 

The development will also include private and affordable residential accommodation, community space, retail units and a ground floor Whitbread-branded restaurant all set in a landscaped public realm.

Rockwell Property, the development partner leading the development, was granted planning permission on the site – which has been derelict for more than a decade – by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in October.

On completion, the hotel will be the tallest Premier Inn in the UK and Whitbread’s largest hotel in London (outside of airport hotels).

Louise Woodruff, Acquisitions Manager for Premier Inn, who secured the hotel site for Whitbread, said:

We’re very excited to bring Premier Inn to Canary Wharf Westferry in what will be our tallest hotel in the UK.  Aside from our hotels at Gatwick and Heathrow Airports, this 400-bedroom hotel will be the largest Premier Inn in London, which reflects the strong demand we’re experiencing in east London and especially around Canary Wharf.  We’re delighted to secure the deal with Rockwell for a fantastic development that will make a positive contribution to Tower Hamlets by creating local jobs alongside new public areas and affordable homes.”

Donal Mulryan, Founder of Rockwell Property, said:

“I’m delighted that Rockwell have secured Premier Inn as the operator for our new hotel-led development at the Westferry gateway to Canary Wharf. Premier Inn’s emphasis on being a force for good aligns perfectly with our aspiration to deliver exceptional schemes which make a positive and lasting difference. It is an exciting time for Rockwell and this agreement further expands our growing hotel portfolio as well as illustrating our proven track-record. The desirability of this scheme is a testament to Rockwell’s expertise. We are eager not only to deliver it to our high standards but to continue building upon this with similar projects in the future.”

The consented development, designed by SimpsonHaugh and Partners, will be 30-storeys high, with 28-storeys occupied by the Premier Inn hotel, alongside 66 new apartments.  The scheme will also include ground floor retail and community space, half an acre of gardens, an urban arboretum and children’s play space.

Construction is due to commence in summer 2019.  

For more information, please contact:

Julia Hipkiss for Rockwell Property on Julia.hipkiss@fhflondon.co.uk / 020 8618 2959

James Anderson, Property Communications Manager, Whitbread on james.anderson@whitbread.com / 07850 944798

Emily Barnes / Richard Pia at Camargue on 020 7637 7366 / whitbread@camargue.uk

Notes to editors

At 400 bedrooms, the Canary Wharf Westferry Premier Inn will be the largest Premier Inn hotel not located at an airport.  The only Premier Inn hotels in the UK larger than this are the Premier Inns at Gatwick Airport (North Terminal), Heathrow Airport Terminal 4 and Heathrow Airport (Bath Road).

About Premier Inn

Premier Inn was named the UK’s top-rated hotel chain for 2018 according to Which? With over 790 budget hotels and more than 74,000 rooms across the UK and Ireland, Premier Inn guests are never far from a great night’s sleep at fantastic value rates. Premier Inn hotels are in more locations than any other UK hotel brand for the ease and convenience of leisure and business travellers alike.

All Premier Inn bedrooms feature en-suite bathrooms, a luxurious Hypnos® bed, a choice of pillows, TV with Freeview and free Wi-Fi. A bar and restaurant is situated either on-site or next door to each hotel, offering a wide range of food and drink including a delicious all-you-can-eat breakfast.

Across the estate, the average Trip Advisor score for Premier Inn hotels is 4.2. The business has been awarded the Best UK Family Hotel in the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards, Best UK Hotel Group in the Silver Travel Awards and the Business In The Community Environmental Leadership Award.

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity is the National Charity partner of Premier Inn and to date team members, guests and suppliers have reached the milestone of £10 million, which formed part of the funding towards the Premier Inn Clinical Building, officially opened by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge in January 2018.

Outside of the UK, Premier Inn’s expansion plans are focused on two key markets; Germany and the Middle East, with plans to expand in Ireland. Premier Inn opened its first hotel in Frankfurt in 2016 and the business has 6,000+ Premier Inn bedrooms in its secured pipeline in Germany.

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