Tag: Whitbread PLC

Planning consent granted for 102-bedroom Hotel in City Centre

Artisan Real Estate to Partner with Whitbread to transform 1980s office on edge of New Town into hub by Premier Inn

Planning consent has been granted by the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) to transform a sandstone office building on the edge of Edinburgh’s New Town into a sustainable 102-bedroom city centre hotel.

Regeneration specialist Artisan Real Estate is now set to progress with the redevelopment of Albany House, located at 58 Albany Street on the corner of the capital’s Broughton Street, with completion scheduled for summer 2027. Artisan have agreed terms with Whitbread plc to operate the completed hotel under its popular hub by Premier Inn brand

The five-storey Albany House was constructed in the 1980s and was designed to reflect the adjacent Georgian neoclassical town houses along Albany Street. The current occupiers are relocating to new offices in the city centre in 2026.

Artisan’s design proposals will retain much of the external structure of the building whilst replacing the top floor facade with a contemporary new cladding and finish to meet current building standards.  Internally, the hotel’s design specification will meet high environmental and sustainability standards, with air-sourced heat pump technology replacing the existing fossil fuel heating and hot water system.

Welcoming the planning consent for Albany House, Artisan’s Managing Director for Scotland, David Westwater, said: “This exciting hotel development will bring continued interest and investment to a vibrant corner of Edinburgh’s eastern city centre.

“We are pleased to be once again working with Whitbread to create a modern and contemporary hotel interior providing the high levels of insulation and energy technology, delivering both a sustainable and attractive addition to Edinburgh’s successful hospitality sector.

“The existing sandstone building is well-suited to hotel development with high levels of natural daylight and an established entrance area.”

He added: “Albany House is the latest in a succession of high-profile planning proposals delivered by Artisan in Edinburgh’s city centre during the last 12 months and reinforces our stated commitment to bring substantial investment coupled with high quality development to the heart of Scotland’s capital.”

Whitbread currently welcomes close to a million visitors to its established network of 14 Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn hotels within the City of Edinburgh Council area. The business calculates its guests staying at these hotels generate more than £32 million in visitor expenditure to the Edinburgh economy every year.

Jill Anderson, Acquisitions Manager for Whitbread, said: “Albany House is an excellent location for a hub by Premier Inn hotel, and I am very pleased to be working with Artisan to expand our footprint in the city in a sustainable way through the proposed conversion of the 1980s office building.

“Our hub by Premier Inn hotels are designed to appeal to budget, short-stay travellers, looking to stay in the most interesting and connected city centre locations.  It offers all the comfort, consistency, and reliability of Premier Inn, but with a smaller bedroom and the format allows us to offer great value rooms in the most vibrant places.”

She added: “Premier Inn has been part of Edinburgh’s hospitality scene for more than 30 years. 

“We’re incredibly proud to have built a network of popular, good-value hotels across the city, and we see great potential for further investment driven by our own high occupancy in the city and the fact that budget hotels like Premier Inn account for just 20% of the city’s bedroom stock.”

Artisan Real Estate has an established track record of delivering innovative hotel development in architecturally sensitive city centre locations.

This includes three hotels as part of the award-winning New Waverley development in the heart of the Edinburgh’s Old Town – including partnering with Whitbread to deliver a Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn (trading as Edinburgh City Centre Royal Mile).

Most recently, the developer has completed the transformation of Glasgow’s historic Clydeside Custom House into a new hotel quarter.

The Albany House planning proposal follows Artisan’s successful application to transform the city’s historic Caledonian Brewery into a new residential neighbourhood which received planning consent from CEC in May 2025.

The developer is also progressing with the homes-led regeneration of a vacant office block on the city’s Ferry Road, to the north of the city centre.

Whitbread gets the go ahead for Edinburgh’s Capital House hotel

Former office on Festival Square will be converted into 195-bedroom Premier Inn

Whitbread PLC, the owner of the Premier Inn hotel chain, has received confirmation from The City of Edinburgh Council that it has granted planning permission for the conversion of Capital House in the centre of Edinburgh into a 195-bedroom Premier Inn. 

Whitbread will invest £21 million in the conversion and rear extension of the 65,350 sq ft vacant office building into a latest format Premier Inn hotel with a ground floor restaurant and bar.   

The new Premier Inn is anticipated to generate an additional £8.1 million per year in visitor expenditure through the external spending of more than 56,000 business and leisure guests which are predicted to stay at the hotel every year once it reaches maturity. 

Whitbread believes half of this external year-round expenditure is anticipated to be spent supporting city centre businesses based on a comprehensive nationwide study of its customers in 2023.  

Jill Anderson, Acquisitions Manager for Scotland at Whitbread, said: “We are fortunate to have an established network of 14 trading Premier Inn hotels in Edinburgh which welcome a million visitors a year and drive £32 million in annual external spending in the city. 

“The strong year-round demand we are continuing to experience for our rooms in the city is driving the expansion of Premier Inn across Edinburgh, including at Capital House in the heart of the city centre. 

“It is a sensational location for a budget hotel given its proximity to iconic tourist destinations like Edinburgh Castle, a host of theatres and concert venues, the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) and the Exchange District.  

“Getting the green light to convert the 1980’s office into a latest format Premier Inn is a huge achievement for the team and we will waste no time in breathing fresh life into the empty building and adding another high-quality location for our customers in Scotland.”

Whitbread acquired Edinburgh Capital House freehold in late 2024 and submitted a planning application to change the use of the 1980s office block to a hotel in May 2025. 

In addition to its investment in Capital House, Whitbread is working to expand the presence of Premier Inn at Edinburgh Airport and add a fourth hub by Premier Inn hotel in the city to the east of the city centre.  

Premier Inn is the UK’s largest hotel chain with a network of 85,500 hotel bedrooms across the UK & Ireland trading from more than 840 hotel locations.  Across both countries, the company believes in the long-term potential for 125,000 Premier Inn bedrooms.

Capital House set to host the capital’s newest Premier Inn

Whitbread submits a planning application for a new 195-bedroom hotel on Festival Square in the heart of Edinburgh city centre

Whitbread PLC, the owner of the Premier Inn hotel chain, has submitted plans to transform Capital House into a 195-bedroom Premier Inn, with a commitment to investing more than £21 million in the conversion of the existing building into a hotel.

After acquiring the 65,350 sq ft gross office block off Lothian Road last year, Whitbread has been preparing a planning application to change the use of the building to a hotel, which was submitted to Edinburgh City Council on 2nd May.

The plans involve the conversion of the existing building and rear extension of the 1980s office into a latest format Premier Inn hotel with a ground floor restaurant and bar. 

The Capital House Premier Inn is expected to generate an additional £8.1 million per year in visitor expenditure through the external spending of more than 56,000 guests which are predicted to stay at the hotel every year.  Half of this external expenditure is anticipated to be spent supporting city centre businesses. 

The proposals signal the latest commitment from Whitbread to invest in Edinburgh as the business continues to see strong long-term potential for its bedrooms across the capital city.

Jill Anderson, Acquisitions Manager for Scotland at Whitbread, said: ““The visitor economy in Edinburgh is thriving but there remains an unmet demand for additional budget hotel rooms in the city.  Capital House represents an excellent opportunity for us to deliver new Premier Inn bedrooms at affordable prices for our customers in a fantastic city centre location.

“The location is ideal for both business and leisure customers.  It is sustainable and highly accessible with direct bus, tram and rail networks within a short walk, it’s a stone’s throw from the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) and Exchange District and is close to tourist destinations like Edinburgh Castle, Usher Hall and other theatres.

“We’re thrilled to submit proposals to transform this underused office building and bring life back into this corner of Festival Square.  We are investing £21 million into delivering the new hotel which will generate over £8 million of additional guest spend into the Edinburgh economy each year and create more than 30 new hospitality jobs. We look forward to working with Edinburgh City Council to progress the application towards determination.”

Whitbread currently welcomes close to a million visitors to its established network of 14 Premier Inn hotels within the City of Edinburgh Council area. The business calculates its guests staying at these hotels generate more than £32 million in visitor expenditure to the Edinburgh economy every year.

More widely, across the UK & Ireland Whitbread currently offers its customers a choice of more than 85,500 Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn bedrooms and the company sees the long-term potential for 125,000 bedrooms in these two core markets.