A new hotel is to be constructed in the West End of Edinburgh, it has been announced.

The agreement between construction group Interserve and Whitbread PLC, will see a new Premier Inn hotel built in the city centre.

Interserve will be responsible for developing and building the 150-bedroom hotel on the Torphichen Street site.

It is the third such city-centre development involving Whitbread's Premier Inn, which Interserve has secured over the last 12 months.

Dougie Sutherland, Interserve Executive Director, said: "This is another fantastic development scheme in Edinburgh and sits comfortably with the Haymarket site that we are already developing. The scheme also reflects the successful partnership that we have built with Premier Inn and we are now developing two sites in Edinburgh and one in Newcastle for them. Interserve is now one of Premier Inn's largest UK partners."


Kevin Murray, Senior Acquisitions Manager for Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, added: "Our proposed new 150-bedroom hotel in Torphichen Street marks our third hub by Premier Inn deal in the city and sees us move into Edinburgh's financial district.

"The new hub by Premier Inn represents an £11.4m million investment in the city and the creation of 35 new jobs for the local area, around half of which will be offered to those who have been long-term unemployed.

"This is another outstanding deal for Whitbread – expanding the development pipeline for our new hub by Premier Inn format, ahead of its launch this November, and marking our third deal with Interserve."

The purchase of the site has already been completed by Interserve and a detailed planning application has been submitted. It is thought work could start on site as early as summer 2015.

(JP/IT)