Whitbread PLC, recently expanded its Leeds city center portfolio by acquiring a freehold office building. The property, located in the South Bank area, is close to Leeds Railway Station and spans 42,000 square feet.
Whitbread plans to convert this office, built in 2000, into a Premier Inn hotel, pending planning approval, to offer around 120 bedrooms. This acquisition is part of a broader strategy to enhance Whitbread's presence in Leeds, where it already operates eight locations, including near Leeds/Bradford Airport. The addition of this building to Whitbread's development pipeline increases its capacity in the city center to over 250 future rooms.
"Whitbread has a long and successful track record of converting office buildings into popular budget hotels. It is a proven route to expanding our presence in popular locations like Leeds City Centre where development opportunities are limited and where we have a requirement to grow. Converting offices into hotels also provides obvious benefits to the environment by extending the life of existing buildings and reducing the embodied carbon of development." “Verity House makes for a superb hotel location given its proximity to the station and all the amenities in Leeds City Centre. It complements our existing network of eight Premier Inn’s across the city and as a freehold purchase it demonstrates Whitbread’s willingness to take on planning and development risk to secure exceptional locations for our guests. The location has huge potential and I’m looking forward to working with the City Council’s planning team on repurposing the building.” - Jill Anderson, Acquisitions Manager for Whitbread
Additionally, Premier Inn is involved in the Leeds Kirkgate redevelopment, a project led by Leeds City Council. Approved in December 2023, this development is set to include a 143-bedroom Premier Inn complete with dining facilities.
The acquisition of Verity House is a strategic expansion move by Whitbread, advised by WSB property consultants, with Commercial Property Partners advising the vendor.
This development reflects Whitbread's commitment to growing its hotel business by converting strategic properties to meet accommodation demands in Leeds.
United Kingdom
