Whitbread opens the doors to flagship hub by Premier Inn hotel
- The hub by Premier Inn hotel at London Farringdon (Old Bailey) sets a new standard for affordable hotel accommodation in the City of London
- Unique hotel incorporates Victorian-era heritage and cultural features – designed to respect and promote the building’s history
- Opening responds to guest appetite for hotel stays in the City of London, an important growth market for the UK’s largest hotel company
Whitbread PLC, the UK’s largest hotel business and owner of Premier Inn, will today [Wednesday 4th February] formally open its latest hotel in the City of London – setting a new benchmark for affordable hotel design in the capital.
It brings 212 contemporary hotel bedrooms – which will be operated under Whitbread’s popular hub by Premier Inn brand – to an area packed with history, culture, global landmarks and international business headquarters.
Taking care to respect the heritage aspects of the building, the hub by Premier Inn London Farringdon (Old Bailey) is built within a Victorian-era former police station, retaining many of the original features of the era including a historic entrance way, ‘reading room’, staircase and a dramatic atrium that celebrates both old and new architecture.
Hotel guests and visitors to the City will be able to enjoy a free-to-enter cultural space at the entrance to the hotel and in a central atrium space, featuring the work of two Goldsmith’s trained London-based artists – Hilary Yip and Leily Mojdehi – designed to integrate the hotel within the City of London’s ‘Culture Mile’ initiative.
Unique heritage bedrooms have been designed at the front of the Grade II listed building, and the ‘hub’ brand’s compact bedrooms are also arranged across the rear new building, set behind a historic retained façade across eight storeys.
Affordable hotels are in high demand in the City of London as domestic and international guests increasingly seek out value from which to enjoy the City’s many unique cultural attractions and leisure opportunities, and to take advantage of the Square Mile’s transport connections, particularly the Elizabeth line.
It is a use the City of London Corporation has been encouraging through its ‘Destination City’ growth strategy to attract more visitors and workers into the Square Mile which recognised the opportunity for hotels, alongside office workspaces, for which it is internationally renowned.
Whitbread has been operating Premier Inn hotels in the City of London catchment since 2013 and has stepped up investment in recent years to meet consistently high customer demand and to capitalise on opportunities to transform former office buildings into high quality, affordable hotels.‑quality, affordable
Following the opening of the London Farringdon (Old Bailey) hub by Premier Inn hotel, the FTSE100 hotel company now offers its guests a choice of seven Premier Inn and hub hotels across the City with a further two Square Mile locations under construction or in planning.
Nationwide, nearly 30% of the FTSE100 hotel company’s development pipeline are hub by Premier Inn hotels, the majority of which are focused in the capital.
Jonathan Langdon, Senior Acquisition Manager for Whitbread, said:
“We have poured our heart and soul into creating a showcase development at Farringdon (Old Bailey) – demonstrating how affordable hotels like hub by Premier Inn can breathe fresh life into vacant historic buildings in Central London.
“The new hotel achieves so much, creating a fantastic new addition for our customers, retaining heritage, and contributing towards a buzzing and vibrant seven-day-a-week City of London through the activity and spending of our guests.
“We’re very proud with what we have achieved and are grateful to the vision and hard work of so many people who have contributed to make the development happen.”
Whitbread acquired the former City of London Snow Hill Police Station from the City of London Corporation and worked closely with City planners to create a hotel development that balances the need to revitalise the site whilst respecting its heritage.
Tom Sleigh, Chairman of the Planning and Transportation Committee at the City of London Corporation, said:
“The transformation of the former Snow Hill Police Station into a modern, affordable hotel shows how heritage and planning innovation can work hand in hand, an excellent example of how thoughtful, high-quality design can bring new life to one of the City’s historic buildings.
“As we continue to diversify the Square Mile’s offer, projects like this help ensure the City remains a vibrant, welcoming and culturally rich place for workers, residents and visitors alike. We welcome Whitbread’s commitment to celebrating the area’s history while supporting the City’s growth.”
Whitbread’s hub by Premier Inn is designed for locations in major cities where property prices are relatively high but, thanks to the brand’s smaller room format, is able to deliver a strong commercial performance whilst providing affordable rooms for guests.
Launched on St Martins Lane in Covent Garden in 2014, the brand now offers nineteen centrally located hotels and almost 3,300 bedrooms in locations across Central London and Edinburgh City Centre.
In line with Whitbread’s sustainability strategy, Force For Good, the hub by Premier Inn London Farringdon (Old Bailey) hotel is powered by electricity backed by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) – with the building incorporating heat recovery systems and air source heat pumps to create a low energy demand. The hub also features a blue roof design, which means it stores the rainwater and releases it slowly to reduce flood risk in the area.
A team of 35 have been recruited or offered opportunities for career progression with Whitbread through the new hotel opening – with new job opportunities promoted to residents of Central and Inner London.
