Premier Inn gears up for second Chichester hotel
The UK’s largest hotel chain has bought a Bognor Road site as part of their south coast expansion.
Premier Inn is set to open a second hotel in Chichester after its parent company, Whitbread PLC, confirmed it has bought land on Bognor Road for a new 82-bedroom development.
The new hotel will be built on a site at Cathedral Business Park, close to the A27 and A259 junction, giving visitors easy access to the city, Goodwood, the coast and surrounding areas.
It will complement the existing Premier Inn at Gate Leisure Park, south west of the city centre. Once complete, the two hotels will provide a total of 165 Premier Inn bedrooms in and around Chichester.
Whitbread says the move fulfils a long-standing ambition to secure a second site in the cathedral city, driven by rising demand from both business and leisure travellers.
Louise Woodruff, acquisitions manager at Whitbread, said Chichester’s mix of history, tourism and commerce made it a strong location for investment.
“From Roman ruins to the racing circuit at Goodwood, Chichester’s diverse cultural offer and successful business economy is fuelling year-round demand for high-quality, affordable hotel rooms,” she said.
“That demand has underpinned our search for a suitable second Premier Inn in Chichester and we are pleased to have secured this site from Hanbury Properties, which is fully serviced and ready for development in the spring."
Whitbread expects construction to begin later this year.
The site was sold by Hanbury Properties, which has been developing Cathedral Business Park. Director James Belbin said the project had required major investment before it could be brought to market.
The land was previously a Second World War fuel depot and needed full remediation, along with new road access, traffic lights, a bus stop, estate roads and new services running under the A27.
“It has not been the most straightforward site to deliver,” he said. “So this sale represents the culmination of all that hard work. We are delighted to see Premier Inn bring their plans to life here.
“It is great to know the hotel will create jobs and make a positive contribution to the local community in the years to come."
The Chichester deal is part of Whitbread’s wider expansion across Sussex and the south coast. The company is opening its latest Premier Inn on Bognor Regis seafront this month, taking its total number of Sussex hotels to 23.
Work is also due to start in February on a new Premier Inn in Littlehampton town centre, following the demolition of a former supermarket. Whitbread is also searching for a site in Rye.
Across the UK and Ireland, Premier Inn currently operates more than 840 hotels with almost 86,000 bedrooms. The company says it sees long-term potential to grow that figure to 125,000 rooms.