Whitbread Signs Premier Inn Hotel in Cork, Ireland

Whitbread has secured a deal for a new Premier Inn hotel in Cork, Ireland.

Located in a prime location at Morrisons Quay on the banks of the River Lee, the new 183-bedroom Cork Premier Inn hotel is Ireland’s first Premier Inn hotel outside of Dublin.

Kevin Murray, Head of Acquisitions for Whitbread in Ireland, said, “Securing a new Premier Inn hotel at Morrisons Quay is a major milestone in our expansion into Ireland as it marks our first site outside of Dublin. Cork has an exciting future as a cultural and educational centre, so we see real potential in the business and leisure markets here. With significant additional bedroom requirements, we’re actively seeking freehold and leasehold opportunities for Premier Inn right across the country.”

After signaling its intent to expand into the Irish market last year, Whitbread has secured more than 500 Premier Inn rooms in Dublin city centre through three hotels – at South Great George’s Street, Jervis Street and Castleforbes Business Park. The hotels are scheduled to open from early 2021.

Premier Inn’s first site in Cork is within a five-minute walk of Cork’s new events arena currently under construction, next door to the College of Commerce and across the river from the internationally renowned School of Music and the new University of Cork Business School, due to open in 2023. The hotel will be delivered alongside the conversion into offices of three protected buildings currently on the site.

Mark Elliott, Director of Dublin-based Greenleaf Group, said, “The proposed development at Morrisons Island is an important regeneration scheme for Cork. It covers a prominent and vacant city block on Morrisons Island. The objective behind the proposed development is to re-utilize the existing and protected buildings, which are currently neglected, and create a vibrant new building of the highest quality on the remaining land. We hope that the proposal will be well received by Cork City Council and we look forward to working with all stakeholders during the planning and development of the site.”

After growing in Dublin and Cork, Whitbread says it sees the potential for Premier Inn hotels in other cities including Galway, Limerick and Killarney. The company is seeking sites as freeholds, leaseholds, office to hotel conversions, as well as going concern purchases.

Dan O’Connor, Executive Vice President of Hotels and Hospitality at JLL, who has been working with Whitbread on its expansion in Ireland, said, “Cork is a very strong hotel market, which recorded double digit RevPAR growth of +14% in 2018. JLL are delighted to assist Whitbread in securing one of the most central sites in Cork, which is also a significant milestone in their nationwide roll out.”

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