Whitbread plc has secured approval to convert Verity House in Leeds into a 131-room Premier Inn, marking the latest phase in its northern expansion. The redevelopment will repurpose a vacant 44,000 sq ft office building in the city’s South Bank district, close to Leeds Railway Station and Granary Wharf.
Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2026, with completion expected in spring 2027. Once operational, the hotel is projected to attract more than 57,000 guests each year and contribute around £5.5 million in annual visitor spending, with about half benefiting businesses in Leeds city centre.
Jill Anderson, Acquisitions Manager for Whitbread, said:
“Gaining approval of our plans for Verity House is a major achievement in our efforts to deliver more high-quality, affordable bedrooms for our guests in Leeds City Centre. We’re seeing huge demand in the city and this wonderfully accessible location is sure to be incredibly popular for our business and leisure guests.
“Whitbread has a long and successful track record of converting office buildings into high-quality, successful Premier Inn hotels. By purchasing Verity House freehold last autumn, we demonstrated that Whitbread is unafraid to take on planning and development risk to convert former offices into hotels in locations that match our network plan requirements and meet the expectations of our guests.
“We’re actively looking for similar opportunities across the north of England as we continue to grow our hotel estate in the region.”
The project supports Whitbread’s strategy to strengthen its presence across the north of England. The company is pursuing more than 20 new Premier Inn sites in the region, alongside additional locations in Scotland and Northern Ireland, as part of its plan to expand to 125,000 rooms across the UK and Ireland.
Aligned with its Force for Good sustainability strategy, Whitbread aims to have all new self-built or converted hotels run on 100% renewable electricity from 2025, while also targeting a 20% reduction in water use per guest by 2030.
