Whitbread has announced the acquisition of two Future Inn hotels in Bristol and Plymouth, adding 292 rooms to Premier Inn’s UK network. The first converted rooms are expected to welcome guests in early November 2026.
The freehold deal covers the Future Inn at Bristol’s Cabot Circus and the company’s Plymouth property. The purchase price has not been disclosed. Announced on 1 October, the transaction was scheduled to complete on 2 October 2026.
First Premier Inn Rooms Ready in November
Whitbread plans to have 155 rooms ready under the Premier Inn brand on 2 November. Both hotels will then continue operating while the remaining rooms are refurbished, with the full conversion scheduled for completion in mid-December.
The finished properties will offer Premier Inn’s latest Standard room design, enhanced Premier Plus rooms and an updated restaurant offering.
“Acquiring the two trading hotels from Future Inns shows how flexible we can be to bring new locations into our secured pipeline,” said Alex Flach, Whitbread’s Development Director for the UK and Ireland.
“The hotels will strengthen our network in Plymouth and Bristol, two markets we see strong long-term demand and want to grow further, and as we are converting the buildings into Premier Inns rather than building the hotels from scratch, we can bring our new rooms on stream very quickly for our customers.”
According to Whitbread, the conversions will take Premier Inn’s network to four hotels in Plymouth city centre and five in Bristol city centre.
Existing Hotels Support Expansion Plans
Both properties were purpose-built in the mid-2000s, making them suitable for a relatively quick conversion to Premier Inn’s current format.
The acquisition forms part of Whitbread’s strategy to combine new-build hotels, extensions, leasehold deals and purchases of operating properties as it expands across the UK and Ireland.
“In a market characterised by supply constraints and high development costs, we are increasingly looking at going concern sales to grow our market-leading brands, and we are keen to hear from other operators who are considering their portfolios,” said Flach.
Under its Five-Year Plan, Whitbread aims to reach 98,000 Premier Inn rooms across the UK and Ireland by 2031. The company sees longer-term potential for 125,000 rooms in that market.
Future Inns Retains Cardiff Bay Hotel
Future Inns will continue operating its 197-room Cardiff Bay property following the sale of the Bristol and Plymouth hotels.
“Our company is transitioning at this time to the operation of our 197-bedroom original UK property in Cardiff Bay, which will continue to trade for the foreseeable future as Future Inn, offering the same high standards of accommodation, conferencing, and foodservice we have provided for many years,” said Del Brett, Managing Director of Future Inns, UK, Limited.
Knight Frank and Enterprise Hotels & Hospitality advised Future Inns on the transaction. Whitbread was represented by its in-house property acquisition team.
