DWF advised Whitbread on the freehold purchase of two prime Westminster sites on Dacre Street and Tothill Street, for a combined investment in excess of £80 million. The Tothill acquisition is Whitbread’s single biggest asset purchase to date for their hotel development programme.

The DWF team, led by real estate partner Naveen Gupta, advised Whitbread on these significant investments which will, subject to planning consents, add approximately 450 new bedrooms to the hub by Premier Inn development programme, supporting the overall Premier Inn target to reach 75,000 bedrooms by 2018.

Subject to planning and change of use consent, Whitbread intends to redevelop both sites for its new hub by Premier Inn format, the first of which was opened in November 2014 on St Martin’s Lane in Covent Garden.

hub by Premier Inn now has 13 sites, 10 of which are in London and 3 in Edinburgh. Whitbread has requirements for more sites across London, Edinburgh, core cities, strong-performing provincial locations and established hotel micro-markets.

Naveen Gupta, the partner who led the team at DWF on these two acquisitions, said:

“We were delighted to support Whitbread in their ambitious growth plans with these two major acquisitions. The team worked well with both the client and the client’s other professional advisors to ensure that both transactions concluded efficiently and within the required timeframes.”

Derek Griffin, Head of Acquisitions (London), for Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, said:

“We are making significant capital investment into our estate and our fast-growing, new hub by Premier Inn pipeline. These are outstanding city centre locations ideal for our hub by Premier Inn format and clearly demonstrate the scale of our ambition and our confidence to grow the brand in London.”

Jonathan Langdon, Acquisitions Manager (London) for Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, said:

“Naveen and his team at DWF provided invaluable support on these key acquisitions for Whitbread. They were professional, adept and responded quickly within the very short timeframes put in place for these deals. We look forward to their continued support as we continue to expand.”