Whitbread, the parent company of hotel chain Premier Inn, has bolstered its London development team with the appointment of Sam Murphy as project and programme manager.
The appointment marks the fifth addition to the company’s property team in 2024, as it targets 98,000 Premier Inn rooms by 2030 across the UK and Ireland.
In his new role, Murphy will report to Simon Lancaster, Whitbread head of construction in London, and will work on the company’s pipeline of freehold and leasehold construction projects across the capital, as well as advising the in-house property acquisition team on hotel developments.
Murphy brings 18 years of development and project management experience, having worked with firms such as Gardiner & Theobald, JLL, Deloitte and Aecom.
Whitbread currently has 85,500 beds across more than 100 Premier Inn and Hub by Premier Inn hotels within the M25.
In London, it is targeting a further 40 locations and is in advanced planning stages for three central sites.
It has also recently obtained planning permission for a £200m large-scale, 693-bedroom Premier Inn development on the Strand, WC2, with construction expected to begin in 2025.
Lancaster said: “London is a very attractive market for Premier Inn and our sister brand Hub by Premier Inn. Our established network of trading hotels performs well and with budget brands representing a smaller share of the total hotel market in London compared to the UK overall, we see substantial potential for growth.
“It is a challenging and important role and I’m looking forward to working with Sam Murphy on some of our most significant pipeline developments.”
Photo © Maureen McLean/Shutterstock
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