Whitbread, owner of Premier Inn, has received planning approval to transform Dorset House, a former office block on Stamford Street in Southwark (SE1), into a 421-room hub by Premier Inn.

The decision caps a notably busy 2025 for the group in Central London, during which it acquired four development sites for its Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn brands. Together, the locations add almost 1,000 bedrooms and about 262,000 sq ft of development area to Whitbread’s secured pipeline in the capital.

The Dorset House scheme will bring the hub brand south of the River Thames for the first time, within a ten-minute walk of Waterloo and Blackfriars stations, the South Bank and the Royal Festival Hall.

Whitbread bought the nine-storey, 90,000 sq ft building freehold in May 2025 and promptly opened discussions with Southwark Council to change its use from vacant offices to a hotel. Plans envisage compact hub rooms fitted within the existing floorplates, a new entrance on Stamford Street, and a basement food and beverage space visible at street level via cut-out concrete sections.

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Construction is due to start in the second half of 2026, with opening targeted for summer 2028.

All four Central London acquisitions are office-to-hotel conversions, reflecting wider shifts in demand for office space across the UK. They comprise:

• 35 Red Lion Square, WC1 – the freehold of a former HQ building set to become a 150-bedroom hub by Premier Inn; the 47,500 sq ft property was bought in February 2025 with plans for conversion.

• Phoenix House, SW8 – an 80,000 sq ft former office acquired from Lambeth Council in March 2025 via an innovative leasehold deal; conversion work began eight months after agreeing the lease terms.

• Dorset House, Southwark – purchased freehold from a private seller in May 2025 for an undisclosed sum, with planning discussions starting soon after.

• Victory House, WC2 – the freehold of a 45,000 sq ft office on Kingsway for a 200-bedroom hub by Premier Inn (subject to planning), offering access to Covent Garden, LSE and Lincoln’s Inn Fields.

In total, the acquisitions represent over £100 million of direct investment. All new hotels will be powered solely by electricity from renewable sources in line with Whitbread’s Force For Good sustainability programme.