Premier Inn opens new Scottish hotels and extends others

● 2020 openings include Thurso, which will be its most northerly establishment

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Budget hotel operator Premier Inn will open five new sites in Scotland during 2020, creating some 200 jobs.

Parent company Whitbread said it was strengthening its presence north of the Border with the latest hotels, which include a new “super-sized” 249-bed establishment in Glasgow’s St Enoch Square.

A 136-bed hotel on Edinburgh’s Princes Street, which had also been previously flagged, is due to open during the course of 2020.

The openings also include a 96-bed hotel in Hamilton, a 60-bed hotel in Aviemore and an 85-bed offering in Thurso, which is set to become Premier Inn’s most northerly site in the UK.

In total, the firm is on course to launch 735 additional beds this year – a mixture of the five new hotels and some hotel extensions. The openings represent an investment of more than £70 million, and will cre28 ate an estimated 200 additional jobs.

Premierinnmanagingdirector Simon Ewins said: “We’re gearing up for an exciting year in Scotland with a variety of new hotels ranging from a 249-bed mega-hotel in one of Glasgow’s most iconic central locations to our most northerly site in the UK in Thurso.

“From its world-class cities to jaw-dropping Highlands, Scotland’s tourist offer is hard to beat and we’re pleased to help make it even easier for both leisure and business travellers to enjoy the country affordably.”

Additional room capacity is being added to Premier Inn’s Edinburgh East, Fort William and Inverness West sites.

Uk-wide, the group is opening 37 hotels during the course of 2020, comprising some 4,000 rooms.

Last month, Whitbread said business customers using its hotels outside of London remained weak, although this was offset by a strong performance in the UK capital.

Sales at its UK hotels fell 1.3 per cent in the 13 weeks to November, meaning they dropped 2.2 per cent in the first nine months of the financial year. Regional sales were down 2 per cent – compared with a 1 per cent fall for the sector more broadly – although this was helped by large tourist numbers boosting sales by 4.8 per cent in London.

Chief executive Alison Brittain explained that the regional fall was due to a drop in lastminute business trips, with companies reining in their spending.

She said: “Our leisure business has held up very well. People taking short trips and staycations has been strong. The weakness we’ve seen has been business confidence and business investment.

“Clearly people are feeling better from the election in general terms. But it’s way too early for that to transfer into confidence.”

Lastoctober,whitbreadsaid it “retained a strong balance sheet” as it benefited from the £3.9 billion sale of the Costa Coffee chain to Coca-cola the previous year.

Analysts said that without the Costa business, Whitbread may find life tougher.