PPHE gets green light for Westminster Bridge hotel

PPHE Hotel Group has been granted planning permission for a 186-room hotel on Westminster Bridge Road, London.

 

The hospitality real estate group is set to build a 15-storey design-led midscale concept in the South Bank area as part a mixed-use development.

 

The site will also feature two floors of office and light industrial floorspace as well as an all-day dining bar and café on the ground floor.

 

The development is located opposite Lambeth North Station with easy access to London landmarks, cultural spots and nearby transport links. It will be PPHE’s fifth hotel in the Waterloo neighbourhood.

 

PPHE purchased the site for £12m in 2019 and it is currently working on detailed designs for the project. When The Caterer spoke to co-chief executive Greg Hegarty earlier this year, the room count was 179, but the approved total has since risen by seven.

 

Hegarty said the Westminster Bridge site will operate under the same brand concept as Park Plaza Victoria London.

 

The property had previously been approved by planning officers but was rejected by local councillors before being given the green light.

 

“There are new development opportunities in London, but getting the planning permission to develop in the capital is becoming business prohibitive," Hegarty told The Caterer in February.

 

Boris Ivesha, president and chief executive of PPHE Hotel Group, said the South Bank hotel was a "hugely exciting project" that would bring the group’s London portfolio to 3,900 rooms.

 

The Westminster Bridge Road property will join PPHE’s nine existing London hotels, including the recently-opened Art’otel London Hoxton.

 

The group has also secured planning permission for a site on the A40 in Park Royal, as well as a 179-bedroom subterranean hotel beneath the existing Park Plaza Victoria London.

 

PPHE also has Park Plazas in Leeds, Nottingham and Cardiff, and its global real estate portfolio is worth £2b.