Whitbread signs £52m funding deal on new Hub by Premier Inn in Shoreditch

Whitbread has completed a £52m forward funding investment deal with an un-named UK pension fund for its new Hub by Premier Inn, currently under construction in Shoreditch, east London.

The agreement follows three recent forward funding deals on new hotels at Kings Cross, Westminster and Farringdon.

Whitbread will develop the Shoreditch hotel over the next 24 months and lease the property upon completion. The yield to the fund by the end of the development is around 3.9%.

Announced by Whitbread in 2013 as a means of tackling the undersupply of low-cost hotels in London, Hub by Premier Inn is a compact brand which now numbers six in the capital and two in Edinburgh. The core Premier Inn brand now has more than 760 hotels.

Whitbread is looking to expand its Premier Inn portfolio, together with the Hub by Premier Inn estate, in UK and Ireland to 85,000 bedrooms by 2020, up from 70,000 today. In London, the company intends to open 18-20,000 total bedrooms by 2020.

Simon Hobbs, estates director for Whitbread Hotels & Restaurants, said: "We're unlocking value from freehold assets through investment deals like this latest example at Shoreditch and ensuring we maximise return on invested capital."

Last month saw the opening of the latest London Hub by Premier Inn in Tothill Street, Westminster.

Whitbread announces the sale and leaseback of two Premier Inn sites >>

Whitbread signs £84.5m sale and leaseback of Hub by Premier Inn hotel >>

First Hub by Premier Inn outside London opens in Edinburgh >>

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