Whitbread plans office-to-hotel conversion in Central London

Whitbread PLC has acquired Victory House on Kingsway, Central London, in an off-market deal as part of its ongoing expansion of the hub by Premier Inn brand.

The UK’s largest hotel operator confirmed the freehold purchase of the 1920s-built office building from a private overseas investor. The deal value remains undisclosed, but it marks the company’s fourth major Central London acquisition in 2025, with total investments now exceeding £100 million for the year.

Located at 30–34 Kingsway, the eight-storey property sits between Covent Garden and Holborn, close to the London School of Economics, Lincoln’s Inn Fields and the Theatre District. Whitbread plans to convert the 45,000 sq ft office space into a 200-room hotel, subject to planning permission.

Currently leased until spring 2026, Victory House is expected to be redeveloped and integrated into Whitbread’s trading network by 2028. The building’s original stone façade will be retained, while compact rooms typical of the hub format will be introduced across the existing floorplates.

“The Kingsway site is a standout location, surrounded by London’s top cultural and entertainment venues,” said Jonathan Langdon, Senior Acquisition Manager at Whitbread. “It complements our existing network and rounds off a particularly active year of investment in Central and Inner London.”

The addition of Victory House will increase Whitbread’s pipeline of Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn rooms by nearly 1,000 across the capital. Currently, 19% of Whitbread’s 85,000-room estate is located in London.

Unique to this project, rooms at the Kingsway hub hotel will feature views across Lincoln’s Inn Fields. The site will also be developed in line with Whitbread’s sustainability objectives. The hotel will operate entirely on electricity sourced from renewables and will incorporate heat recovery systems and air source heat pumps to minimise energy demand.

Launched in 2014, the hub by Premier Inn brand now includes 18 hotels with over 3,000 rooms in Central London and Edinburgh. An additional four London hotels are in planning or construction, including a 690-room flagship location on the Strand.

Whitbread was advised on the Victory House transaction by Ingleby Trice. The seller was represented by JLL and Savills. Planning discussions with Camden Council are expected to begin in early 2026.