Major milestone for Premier Inn as it surpasses 1,000 hotel rooms in Ireland and appoints new Development Manager
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Major milestone for Premier Inn as it surpasses 1,000 hotel rooms in Ireland and appoints new Development Manager

  • Whitbread secures site on Newmarket Square, Dublin 8, for a new 151-bedroom Premier Inn hotel
  • Takes overall secured development pipeline in Ireland to over 1,000 Premier Inn rooms
  • Matt Gent appointed as the dedicated Development Manager for Ireland – a new role, signalling Whitbread’s intent to expand across the country
  • Whitbread is actively looking for more sites across Dublin and in major markets across Ireland

February 14, 2020 // Franchising.com // Whitbread Plc, the owner of the Premier Inn hotel chain, is continuing to gain momentum in its expansion into Ireland with the announcement of its sixth site and the appointment of a dedicated Development Manager.

Working with Bain Capital Credit, Whitbread has secured a site for a 151-bedroom Premier Inn hotel in the Distillery Quarter at Newmarket Square, Dublin 8. This deal increases the business’ secured development pipeline in Ireland to more than 1,000 bedrooms.

Kevin Murray, Head of Acquisitions for Premier Inn in Ireland, said:

“Securing the Newmarket site and reaching over 1,000 bedrooms in the pipeline is a significant landmark for us as we aim to be the number one budget hotel chain in Ireland. The site is within an exciting regeneration area and we’re confident it will trade strongly being right across the street from the Teeling Whiskey Distillery and within walking distance of the Guinness Storehouse, St Patrick’s Cathedral and Christchurch.”

The news comes as Whitbread appoints Matt Gent as the new Development Manager for Ireland, to drive forward the business’ growth across the country. Matt takes up his role this month following five years as a Project and Programme Manager with Whitbread in the UK and several years’ experience prior to joining Whitbread including roles at JLL and Gardiner + Theobold.

Commenting on his appointment, Matt Gent, Development Manager for Ireland, said:

“This is an incredibly exciting time to join the Ireland team and I’m looking to hit the ground running and continue our rapid expansion. Dublin remains an important market for us as we look to secure 2,500 rooms across the city, but we’re also looking beyond the capital and have live requirements in other popular leisure and business destinations, such as Cork, Galway, Limerick and Killarney.”

David Cullen, Managing Director, Bain Capital Credit, added:

“We are very pleased to be partnering with Whitbread to bring a 151-bedroom Premier Inn hotel on stream at Newmarket Square in what is a historic and regenerated part of Dublin. As a multi-sector investor deploying capital efficiently and at scale, we fundamentally believe in the potential of the Irish hotel real estate market and in the inherent sustainability of Dublin’s thriving tourist economy.”

Premier Inn is expanding rapidly into Ireland with a requirement for 2,500 rooms in Dublin city centre, with the potential for significant growth nationwide in locations including Cork, Galway, Limerick and Killarney. The business is seeking sites as freeholds, leaseholds, conversions as well as going concern asset purchases.

Notes to editors:

Whitbread currently operates one Premier Inn hotel in Ireland at Dublin Airport (213 bedrooms).

After signalling its intention to expand into the Irish market in 2018, Whitbread signed deals for five Premier Inn hotels in Dublin city centre – at South Great George’s Street, Jervis Street, Castleforbes Business Park, Gloucester Street and now Newmarket Square – and one at Morrison’s Quay in Cork. The hotels are a mixture of freehold and leasehold acquisitions and will open from early 2021 onwards.

In Northern Ireland Whitbread operates eight Premier Inn hotels at Bangor, Belfast (3 hotels) Coleraine, Carrickfergus, Derry/Londonderry and Lisburn.

The target locations for Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn are available on the property pages of the Whitbread website here – https://www.whitbread.co.uk/property-and-suppliers/hub-by-premier-inn – together with a list of contacts in Whitbread’s property acquisition team.

About Premier Inn

Premier Inn was named the UK's top-rated hotel chain for 2019 according to Which? With over 800 hotels and 80,000 rooms across the UK and Ireland, Premier Inn guests are never far from a great night's sleep at fantastic value rates. Premier Inn hotels are in more locations than any other UK hotel brand for the ease and convenience of leisure and business travellers alike.

All Premier Inn bedrooms feature en-suite bathrooms, a luxurious Hypnos® bed, a choice of pillows, TV with Freeview and free Wi-Fi. A bar and restaurant is situated either on-site or next door to each hotel, offering a wide range of food and drink including a delicious all-you-can-eat breakfast.

Across the estate, the average Trip Advisor score for Premier Inn hotels is 4.2. Premier Inn has been awarded the Best UK Family Hotel in the TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Awards, Best UK Hotel Group in the Silver Travel Awards and the Business In The Community Environmental Leadership Award. In 2019 Premier Inn was also named the UK’s top-rated hotel chain for the fifth year in a row by Which?

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity is the National Charity partner of Premier Inn and to date team members, guests and suppliers have reached the milestone of £10 million, which formed part of the funding towards the Premier Inn Clinical Building, officially opened by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge in January 2018.

Outside of the UK, Premier Inn's expansion plans are focused on Germany. Premier Inn opened its first hotel in Frankfurt in 2016 and has more than 8,000 Premier Inn bedrooms in its secured pipeline in Germany.

About Bain Capital Credit

Bain Capital Credit (www.baincapitalcredit.com) is a leading global credit specialist with approximately $41 billion in assets under management. Bain Capital Credit invests up and down the capital structure and across the spectrum of credit strategies, including leveraged loans, high-yield bonds, distressed debt, private lending, structured products, non-performing loans and equities. Our team of more than 200 professionals creates value through rigorous, independent analysis of thousands of corporate issuers around the world. In addition to credit, Bain Capital invests across asset classes including private equity, public equity and venture capital, and leverages the firm’s shared platform to capture opportunities in strategic areas of focus.

SOURCE Premier Inn

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