Whitbread Secures Planning Permission for London's Dorset House Hotel Conversion
Whitbread has received planning consent to transform Dorset House, a former office building located on Stamford Street in Southwark, London, into a 421-room hotel under its hub by Premier Inn brand. This development marks the first hub by Premier Inn south of the River Thames and is part of Whitbread's recent expansion efforts in Central London.
The company acquired the 90,000 square foot Dorset House freehold in May 2025 and initiated discussions with Southwark Council to change the building's use from office to hotel. The planned conversion will maintain the existing structure's floorplate, adding compact hotel rooms and a new entrance on Stamford Street. The design includes a basement-level food and beverage area visible from the ground floor through cut-out concrete sections.
Construction is scheduled to commence in the latter half of 2026, with the hotel expected to open in summer 2028.
Dorset House is one of four properties Whitbread acquired in 2025 for development into Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn hotels, collectively adding nearly 1,000 rooms and approximately 262,000 square feet of development space to its pipeline in London.