Whitbread secures new hotels with Arora Family Trust
Premier Inn has entered into agreements with companies owned by the Arora Family Trust to lease the hotels at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.
The agreements are conditional upon obtaining planning permission and other consents. The four new airport sites will be built out as ‘developer turn-key’ deals and represent an investment on a capitalised lease basis of in excess of £125m. The hotels will open on a phased basis from the Autumn of 2011 onwards.
– Heathrow, Terminal 5, 400 bedrooms
– Heathrow, Terminal 4, 240 bedrooms
– Stansted, 300 bedrooms
– Gatwick, North Terminal, 630 bedrooms
The new Gatwick hotel will be the first airport terminal-based budget hotel in the UK. It will provide customers with convenient access directly into the North Terminal itself. Premier Inn said the move would “reinforce [its position] as the largest UK airport hotel operator and show confidence of a return to growth in air travel once the recession ends.”
Mark Anderson, Commercial & Property Director, Whitbread, said: “As air travel returns to long-term growth, we see opportunities to build our presence at airports. The success of the budget airlines has shown that there is an increasing demand for low-cost travel and that includes accommodation.
“We are pleased to have reached this exciting agreement with the Arora Family Trust and are looking forward to exploring further opportunities together in the future.”
Surinder Arora of Arora Hotels, said: “We are delighted to have reached this landmark agreement with Premier Inn which very much complements our existing Arora Hotels portfolio and presence at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports.”
