Premier Inn owner Whitbread has completed the acquisition of 13 hotel sites across Germany from Centro Hotel Group.

The deal expands Whitbread’s network of trading and pipeline hotels in Europe’s largest economy to 68 properties across the Premier Inn and Hub by Premier Inn brands. Altogether, its footprint in Germany now amounts to more than 12,000 guest rooms.

Growth across Germany

Following the purchase of these 13 sites, the UK-based business now operates 29 hotels within Germany, with others in the pipeline bringing the total number to 68. Its management team, which is seeking to replicate the success that Premier Inn has already enjoyed in the UK, sees the potential to operate around 60,000 guest rooms across the country.

Altogether, these 13 sites will add 1,934 guest rooms to Whitbread’s network in Germany. Of these, six are currently trading, while the others are under-construction or secured-development opportunities.

“Our ambition is for Premier Inn to be the number one budget-hotel operator in Germany, offering business and leisure travellers the high-quality, good-value accommodation that the Premier Inn brand is so well-known for in the UK,” said Mark Anderson, managing director for property and international at Whitbread. “Completing the acquisition of 13 hotels from the Centro Hotel Group continues our strategy of growing Premier Inn across the country.”

New markets for Premier Inn

With the exception of sites in Cologne and Hamburg, all the newly acquired hotels are in new markets for Premier Inn, including properties that were trading under the NinetyNine, Centro, FourSide and Boutique 009 hotel brands. The conversion of these operating hotels to Premier Inn-branded properties is to begin in the first half of 2021. Until then, they will continue to operate under their existing branding but in the Premier Inn estate.

“The hotels match our network requirements and bring Premier Inn to many locations where we do not yet have a presence, including a number of key towns and cities where we expect a strong demand for hotel rooms when the market recovers,” said Anderson. “This deal demonstrates the structural opportunities that now exist in the German market, which we believe we are very well-placed to take advantage of.”

The 13 sites are: Boutique 009 Köln City (operating, 98 rooms); Centro Hotel Weisser Hase (operating, 108 rooms); FourSide Braunschweig (operating, 200 rooms); FourSide Saarbrücken (operating, 147 rooms); NinetyNine Heidelberg (operating, 107 rooms); NinetyNine Wuppertal (operating, 99 rooms); Premier Inn Erfurt (pipeline, 189 rooms); Premier Inn Hamburg Airport (pipeline, 110 rooms); NinetyNine Karlsruhe (pipeline, 200 rooms); NinetyNine Lübeck (pipeline, 103 rooms); NinetyNine Ludwigshafen (pipeline, 182 rooms); NinetyNine Osnabrück (pipeline, 131 rooms); and NinetyNine Wolfsburg (pipeline, 260 rooms).