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DEAL AGREED WITH WHITBREAD FOR 225-BED HOTEL AT PHASE 2 EXCHANGE SQUARE


Whitbread has agreed a 25 year lease with Nikal on a new 225-bedroom Premier Inn hotel and 6,000 sq ft Bar + Block Steakhouse Restaurant for the second phase of Exchange Square in Birmingham City Centre.

Exchange Square is a significant new residential and lifestyle destination occupying a strategic site located between the Eastside and Colmore Business District and immediately opposite Curzon Street Station, the new home for HS2 when it arrives in Birmingham in 2026.

Exchange Square is being delivered in two phases. Premier Inn will occupy a new thirteen-storey building on a new public square proposed as part of a revised planning application for Phase 2, which is due to be submitted by Nikal shortly. Within the proposals are two further large retail/leisure units.

An agreement with Grainger PLC, the UK’s largest listed residential landlord and market leader in the UK private rented sector, to forward fund and acquire a 373 home development for rent also within Phase 2 Exchange Square, was announced in December last year.

Whitbread has entered an agreement to lease the completed hotel development, which is subject to planning approval. On opening, the Premier Inn and Bar + Block are expected to create approximately 90 new jobs, with recruitment focused in central Birmingham.

Stuart Rose, Regional Acquisition Manager for the Midlands at Premier Inn, said: “Securing a new Premier Inn at Exchange Square is a very exciting deal for Whitbread. It will be our first new-build hotel in Birmingham city centre and an excellent opportunity to showcase the quality of a latest generation Premier Inn hotel and Bar + Block restaurant in a prominent and central location. 

“The deal at Exchange Square is part of our wider acquisition drive in Birmingham. Premier Inn customers want to stay in Birmingham city centre for business and leisure all year round and a new hotel at Exchange Square will help us to meet this strong customer demand as well as contribute to the transformation of a key gateway site in the city centre.”

Nikal’s Development Director, Darren Jones, is overseeing the business’s Birmingham based projects. He says, “Its fantastic to have Whitbread on board and this agreement puts us in a strong position to submit our revised planning application for Phase 2.

“Exchange Square sits within the Curzon Masterplan; an area benefitting from over £900 million of investment and expected to create 600,000sq.m of employment space, 36,000 new jobs and 4,000 new homes. These new proposals reflect Exchange Square’s importance as a hub for those working or visiting the city,” he adds.

Subject to planning approval on revised plans for Phase 2, the Premier Inn at Exchange Square is targeted to open in 2021.

Phase 1 Exchange Square is currently under construction and consists of 603 rental apartments and 30,000 sq ft of retail/leisure space across three buildings of 27, 16 and nine storeys. The first of the three towers is due for handover this month.

Eversheds Birmingham acted for Nikal and DWF Manchester acted for Whitbread.

About Premier Inn

Premier Inn was named the UK’s top-rated hotel chain for 2018 according to Which? With over 790 budget hotels and more than 75,000 rooms across the UK and Ireland, Premier Inn guests are never far from a great night’s sleep at fantastic value rates. Premier Inn hotels are in more locations than any other UK hotel brand for the ease and convenience of leisure and business travellers alike.

All Premier Inn bedrooms feature en-suite bathrooms, a luxurious Hypnos® bed, a choice of pillows, TV with Freeview and free Wi-Fi. A bar and restaurant is situated either on-site or next door to each hotel, offering a wide range of food and drink including a delicious all-you-can-eat breakfast.

Across the estate, the average Trip Advisor score for Premier Inn hotels is 4.2. The business has been awarded the Best UK Family Hotel in the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards, Best UK Hotel Group in the Silver Travel Awards and the Business In The Community Environmental Leadership Award.

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity is the National Charity partner of Premier Inn and to date team members, guests and suppliers have reached the milestone of £10 million, which formed part of the funding towards the Premier Inn Clinical Building, officially opened by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge in January 2018.

Outside of the UK, Premier Inn’s expansion plans are focused on two key markets; Germany and the Middle East, with plans to expand in Ireland. Premier Inn opened its first hotel in Frankfurt in 2016 and the business has 5,500 Premier Inn bedrooms in its secured pipeline in Germany.

About Bar + Block

There are eight Bar + Block Steakhouse restaurants in central locations across the UK including at Bath, Birmingham (Waterloo Street), London (Kings Cross and Aldgate), Leamington Spa, Nottingham, Fareham (Whiteley Shopping Centre) and Wimbledon.