Acting for LaSalle Investment Management, we have completed a Portsmouth commercial property deal which will see Premier Inn, the UK’s largest budget hotel chain, sign a 25-year lease on a new 84-bedroom hotel.

The Portsmouth development by LaSalle Investment Management will replace the obsolete Midland House office block at Dugal Drummond Street, next to Portsmouth and Southsea station, and will create around 35 jobs. There will also be two retail units on the ground floor.

Regeneration for obsolete Portsmouth office building

A planning application has been submitted for the project, which has been designed by architects, PLC.

The Midland House site occupies a prominent and very central location on the busy thoroughfare linking Guildhall Square’s civic offices, university faculty buildings and bars to the shops in Commercial Road. Built in the 1970s, it was vacated by HSBC in 2004 and has stood virtually empty since.

Scheme to prompt further redevelopment of Portsmouth property?

Andrew Derry, Development Director at LaSalle, commented: "The proposed 84-bed hotel for a new Premier Inn is excellent news for Portsmouth, and heralds a significant change in fortune for the city centre which should encourage redevelopment on other local sites. The local authority masterplan has identified this area as requiring special attention and, within the plan, this landmark site is earmarked for redevelopment to remove the unsightly and unsafe undercroft and to infill the ground floor to accommodate a variety of potential new uses including retail, cafe, restaurant and coffee bars.”

South expansion for Premier Inn

John Bates, Head of Acquisitions, UK and Ireland, Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, added: “Premier Inn is one of the UK’s leading brands and we are expanding rapidly as we respond to strong demand from our customers for more Premier Inn bedrooms in great locations. We have more than 52,000 Premier Inn bedrooms across the country and we are continuing our record rate of expansion to achieve our goal of 65,000 bedrooms by 2016.

“We’re investing in projects right across the South and this latest deal adds to further hotels we are developing at Farnham, Farnborough, Gosport and Winchester. The new hotel in Portsmouth is in an ideal location with its proximity to the civic offices, university buildings and nearby shops and, subject to planning permission, we look forward to opening our doors to customers in 2014.”

Property redevelopment welcomed by local authority

Robin Dickens, Director in our South Coast Agency team, concluded: “Midland House had become an eyesore within Portsmouth city centre and the Premier Inn scheme is welcomed by the local authority to kick-start regeneration activity. It will also encourage redevelopment on other derelict sites.

"We have advised LaSalle Investment Management on this building for over 15 years, and have come close on several occasions to agreement a pre-let. It is therefore particularly rewarding to see this redevelopment opportunity become a reality.”
 
We acted on behalf of LaSalle for the hotel letting, while Hughes Ellard represents LaSalle for the ground floor retail space. Peter Spelman Consultancy acted on behalf of Premier Inn.