Whitbread Names Contractor for 180-Room Vauxhall Premier Inn

Whitbread has appointed Legendre UK to lead the conversion of Phoenix House in Vauxhall into a 180-room Premier Inn. The contractor appointment, announced September 21, moves the project forward, though strip-out work at the site began in November 2025.

The 10-storey, roughly 80,000-square-foot building stands opposite Vauxhall Station. Whitbread plans to reuse its existing structure, fitting it with hotel rooms, including Premier Plus options, and a guest restaurant and reception area on the mezzanine.

The hotel will be the Premier Inn chain’s first in Vauxhall. Lambeth Council approved the change of use in July 2025, after Whitbread agreed to occupy the vacant former council office under a 30-year lease. The council retains the longer-term head lease.

Phoenix House had been largely vacant since Lambeth Council moved out in 2019. The conversion will bring the building back into use without replacing its main structure, and Whitbread is targeting BREEAM Excellent sustainability certification.

Whitbread expects the hotel to create around 25 permanent hospitality jobs. The company’s latest announcement schedules completion for the end of 2027, later than its November 2025 target to open in early 2028.

The Vauxhall project fits Whitbread’s effort to expand in London by converting offices into hotels. The company says it operates more than 100 hotels within the M25 and has identified 40 locations across the city where it wants to grow.

The arrangement also lets Whitbread take on the conversion while Lambeth retains its long-term interest in the property. The latest announcement did not disclose the project’s cost or expected revenue.

For investors, the next milestones are progress on the conversion and delivery against the end-2027 completion schedule. Whitbread has not announced an opening date beyond that timetable.