Whitbread submits planning application to convert Verity House in Leeds City Centre into a Premier Inn
The hotel development market in Leeds continues to show strength, as Whitbread PLC, the parent company of Premier Inn, moves forward with its latest investment in the city centre.
The company has submitted a planning application to Leeds City Council to convert and extend Verity House – a 44,000 sq ft (GIA) office building – into a 131-bedroom Premier Inn hotel.
Located in the South Bank area of the city with exceptional access to Leeds Railway Station and the vibrant Canary Wharf area, Verity House is ideally positioned for hotel use.
An economic impact analysis submitted as part of Whitbread’s planning application calculated that the proposed hotel will generate £5.5 million per year in visitor expenditure through the external spending of more than 57,000 Premier Inn guests which are predicted to stay at the hotel every year.
Around half of this external expenditure is anticipated to be spent supporting city centre businesses, according to a comprehensive survey of Premier Inn customers in autumn 2023.
Jill Anderson, Acquisitions Manager for Whitbread, said:
“Submitting our planning application for Verity House marks an important milestone in our ambition to grow Premier Inn in Leeds City Centre. The city continues to show strong demand for quality, affordable hotel accommodation, and we’re committed to meeting this need through the delivery of new hotel developments.
“Converting office buildings like Verity House into Premier Inns not only accelerates the delivery of new hotels in high-demand locations like Leeds City Centre, but it also supports Whitbread’s sustainability goals by reducing the carbon emissions involved in the development process through the re-use of existing structures.
“We are looking forward to working closely with the planning team at Leeds City Council as our plans are considered by Officers and all being well deliver long-term investment and a package of local benefits into Leeds City Centre.”
Whitbread acquired Verity House in October 2024 as part of its strategy of investing in its UK and Ireland hotel estate. The company currently operates more than 85,000 Premier Inn rooms across the UK and sees the long-term potential for 125,000 in its core market.
The submitted planning application brings Whitbread’s secured development pipeline in Leeds City Centre to more than 250 new bedrooms across two sites. It currently operates three hotels in the city Centre – at Leeds Arena, Wellington Street and Whitehall Road.
To the east of the city centre, Whitbread is working with Leeds City Council to progress plans to deliver a 143-bedroom Premier Inn with an ancillary bar and restaurant at the Leeds Kirkgate redevelopment site where planning permission was granted in December 2023.
Whitbread submitted the planning application for Verity House on Friday 9th May. At the time of writing the application is yet to be validated by the Council.
Notes to editors
The economic impact assessment submitted as part of the planning application was produced by Turley Economics drawing on sample data from Whitbread and other organisations. A national research report on the economic impact of Premier Inn hotels is available on the Whitbread website here (published 5th August 2024).
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