Whitbread has bought two trading hotels and will convert both into Premier Inns. The deal adds 292 bedrooms to the brand's UK network.
The properties sit in Bristol's Cabot Circus and in Plymouth. Whitbread acquired the freeholds from Future Inns, a Canadian-based hotel company, for an undisclosed sum. The company said the transaction was set to complete on 2 October 2026.
Whitbread adds two trading hotels to the pipeline
Alex Flach, development director for Whitbread in the UK and Ireland, said the acquisition brings new locations into the company's secured pipeline and strengthens its network in Plymouth and Bristol.
He said converting the two buildings brings new rooms on stream quickly.
Both hotels were purpose-built in the mid-2000s. Flach said their size and construction make them straightforward to convert into latest-format Premier Inns.
292 bedrooms across Bristol and Plymouth
The purchase adds 292 bedrooms to Premier Inn's UK network. Whitbread said 155 of the rooms will be ready to book as Premier Inn rooms on 2 November 2026.
The company will trade the rebranded hotels while it refurbishes the remaining rooms. The transformation of both locations is scheduled to complete in mid-December 2026.
On completion the two conversions will grow Premier Inn's network to four hotels in Plymouth city centre and five locations in Bristol city centre.
Standard and Premier Plus rooms
On completion the hotels will carry the brand's latest design, with Standard rooms and enhanced Premier Plus rooms, plus its latest guest-focused restaurant offer.
Flach said the market carries supply constraints and high development costs. He said Whitbread is looking at going-concern sales to grow its brands, and that the company wants to hear from other operators who are considering their portfolios.
The Future Inns side
Del Brett, managing director of Future Inns UK, said the company has developed and operated three UK properties since 2005. He said the sale of the Plymouth and Bristol hotels is an important milestone.
Brett said Future Inns is transitioning to the operation of its 197-bedroom original UK property in Cardiff Bay. That hotel continues to trade as a Future Inn with the same accommodation, conferencing and foodservice.
He thanked colleagues, guests and suppliers in Bristol and Plymouth, and said he trusts Whitbread will operate the hotels to a high standard.
The advisers
Knight Frank and Enterprise Hotels & Hospitality acted for Future Inns. Whitbread's in-house property acquisition team represented the buyer.
Whitbread's five-year plan combines new-build development, extensions, leasehold opportunities and strategic hotel acquisitions. The plan targets 98,000 Premier Inn bedrooms across the UK and Ireland by 2031, with long-term potential for 125,000 rooms in its core market.