UK’s largest hotel company signs agreement for lease with Frank Capital for prominent Lower Bristol Road site
Whitbread plc, the UK’s largest hospitality business and owner of Premier Inn, has committed to opening a second Premier Inn hotel in Bath city centre after signing an agreement for lease with Frank Capital for a prominent development site on Lower Bristol Road, BA2.
The former Beazer House office building, currently vacant, will be demolished to make way for a new six-storey, 68,000 sq ft Premier Inn hotel. The latest-format hotel will feature 152-bedrooms alongside an on-site restaurant and bar on the ground floor.
Located within a 10-minute walk of Bath Spa railway station and the city’s iconic Roman Baths, the site is ideally positioned to attract Premier Inn’s leisure guests. Bath welcomes approximately six million overnight and day visitors annually according to Bath and North East Somerset Council[1].
Construction of the new hotel is expected to begin in early 2026, with the hotel targeted to open in 2028. Upon completion, it will expand Premier Inn’s presence in Bath City Centre to two hotels and more than 250 affordable bedrooms.
Paul Smith, Acquisition Manager for Whitbread, said:
“Securing a new location for our customers in Bath City Centre is a significant achievement in our south-west growth story. There is a well-known undersupply of budget hotel rooms in Bath, and this new location will help us to meet the consistently high, year-round demand we see for Premier Inn bedrooms in city.
“Our guests are sure to love the prime, central location, just minutes from world-famous visitor attractions and Bath Spa train station, and we anticipate they will make a significant contribution to the city’s visitor and business economy through their spending during their stay.
“We are excited to get construction underway next year and add another superb location to our popular network of hotels in the south-west.”
The Lower Bristol Road Premier Inn will feature a mix of Premier Inn’s latest format ‘standard’ rooms as well as its popular ‘enhanced’ Premier Plus bedrooms. Whitbread secured the opportunity to occupy the location following a competitive bidding process.
Natasha El Shazly, General Counsel at Frank Capital, said:
“We are delighted to have exchanged contracts with Whitbread and now look forward to working with the design team, led by TP Bennett, to deliver an exemplary new build hotel that is both respectful of its significant heritage context and forward thinking in its approach to sustainability.”
In line with Whitbread’s sustainability programme, Force For Good, the new Premier Inn is being designed to achieve a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating and will be run solely on electricity generated from renewable sources. Whitbread has a published target to reduce the carbon emissions from its direct operations (Scope 1 and 2 emissions) to zero by 2040.
The acquisition of the Lower Road site is part of Whitbread’s ongoing expansion of Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn in the UK and Ireland. The company currently offers its customers a choice of 850 locations, and more than 85,000 bedrooms, and sees the potential to grow its hotel network to 125,000 UK and Ireland rooms.
Savills led the market engagement for Frank Capital. Whitbread was advised by Sisman Property Consultants.
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