Fri, 02 Oct 2026 | COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
FTSE 100 hospitality group Whitbread has acquired two hotels in Bristol and Plymouth from Canadian operator Future Inns, in a deal that underlines the growing role of acquisitions in its Premier Inn expansion strategy.
The two purpose-built, freehold hotels, in Plymouth and at Bristol's Cabot Circus, add 292 bedrooms to the Premier Inn network. More than half of the rooms are set to open as Premier Inn bedrooms at the beginning of November, with the transaction expected to complete on October 2 2026.
Whitbread, the UK's largest hotel company, has historically prioritised development, but a challenging construction market marked by supply constraints and high build costs has pushed it towards acquiring existing hotels. Both hotels were built in the mid-2000s and can be converted into Premier Inn's latest format relatively quickly.
The purchase strengthens Premier Inn's presence in two cities where Whitbread sees strong long-term demand. The Bristol hotel comprised 149 bedrooms alongside a restaurant and bar. Future Inns, which operated the Plymouth site for around 20 years and the Bristol site for 17 years, will retain its Cardiff hotel.
The acquisition forms part of a wider strategic shift at Whitbread. Under a five-year plan set out alongside its full-year results for the year ending February 2026, the company is targeting 96,000 UK rooms and has been reshaping its estate, including proposals to dispose of around £1.5 billion of freehold Premier Inn assets and the closure of a swathe of its branded restaurants to focus capital on Premier Inn.
The group reported profit before tax down 19 per cent to £298 million for the year, with net debt rising to £709 million. Premier Inn holds around a 12 per cent share of the UK hotel market.
Alex Flach, Development Director for Whitbread in the UK and Ireland, said: "Being able to convert the hotels quickly into Premier Inns was very attractive to us when we were considering the acquisition. Both the Plymouth and Bristol hotels are the right size for us and being built in the mid-2000s, we can convert the purpose-built hotels relatively easily into latest format Premier Inns."
"In a market characterised by supply constraints and high development costs, we are increasingly looking at going concern sales to grow our market-leading brands, and we are keen to hear from other operators who are considering their portfolios. Acquiring the two trading hotels from Future Inns shows how flexible we can be to bring new locations into our secured pipeline."
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