Having worked closely with NJB Hotels‘ Nick Barber (Thanks Nick for your specialist input) for Arun Council in mid 2022 appraising the original options for this site, its great to read in recent press articles that a project we worked on some time ago has finally come to fruition.
Much of our work involves the ground work towards long term hotel projects and this is simply an example of one that will we hope also benefit a local economy through creating new jobs and other spin off benefits (known in the trade as induced and indirect benefits!) arising from visitors to the hotel and destination.
The picture refers to the new 114-bedroom Premier Inn opening in Bognor, a £13 million freehold investment by Whitbread. A good example of how hospitality creates new jobs (up to 30 in this case).
One of the challenges for the Council was to obtain an independent review of ownership and development options on owned land . The proposals were to transact a land swap on a long leasehold site already let to Whitbread on a pub site to enable a new hotel to be developed on an adjoining car park. By joining our own hotel market appraisal skills with Nick Barber of NHLB (https://njbhlp.co.uk), a chartered surveyor and RICS registered valuer with direct experience of the hotel leasehold model and structuring of budget hotel transactions enabled an objective review of this and one other hotel site proposal to be carried out and identification of relevant values risks and opportunities for each project.
At last the destination gets a significant improvement to its hotel offer alongside, and complimentary to, the regeneration plans already underway along the Esplanade and at the Regis Centre!
A joint Council/Whitbread solution as planned with the project now on the home straight (despite recent development challenges in the sector) with a confirmed opening date in early 2026.
The scheme also has a few more bedrooms included over the original plans contributing to a more significant Bognor tourism offer!
#tourism,#hoteldevelopment,#destinationdevelopment,#hospitality
