TL;DR
- Zedwell, the hotel brand of Criterion Capital, has bought New London House on Fenchurch Street from Whitbread and plans a 509-room hotel in the 89,722 sq ft office building (Property Week, The Caterer).
- Whitbread paid GBP 56.5m for the building in 2023 and put it on the market in August; the price in this sale was not disclosed (Whitbread, Property Week).
- The seller held City planning approval for a hotel, yet chose to sell after reviewing the economics of the scheme (Property Week).
What has Zedwell bought?
New London House is a 1970s podium-and-tower building next to Fenchurch Street station, with 89,722 sq ft of space (MCA Insight). Until now it was an office. Zedwell plans to turn it into a 509-room hotel, according to Property Week and Boutique Hotel News.
Zedwell calls the approach "retrofit-first". It means keeping the existing structure rather than demolishing it, which the group says cuts embodied carbon, the emissions locked into materials and construction, and reduces waste (Boutique Hotel News). Criterion Capital's chief executive called the deal "a milestone acquisition and an important step in Zedwell's growth" (The Caterer).
The price was not disclosed (Property Week).
| New London House at a glance | Detail |
|---|---|
| Size | 89,722 sq ft |
| Planned rooms | 509 |
| Whitbread's 2023 purchase price | GBP 56.5m |
| Listed for sale | August |
| Sale price | Not disclosed |
| Buyer | Zedwell (Criterion Capital) |
Size and rooms come from MCA Insight and Property Week, the 2023 price from Whitbread, and the listing, buyer and undisclosed sale price from Property Week.
Why would Whitbread sell a site it had already cleared?
On paper, Whitbread had done the hard part. It bought the building in 2023 from clients of Orchard Street Investment Management for GBP 56.5m, saying it targeted offices that no longer suit occupiers and investors and could become hotels (Whitbread). It later won planning approval from the City for the change from office to hotel, Property Week reports (Property Week).
Then it listed the building in August, three years after buying it, and decided to sell once it had reviewed the economics of the scheme, Property Week reports (Property Week).
A Whitbread spokesperson said the sale is "consistent with Whitbread's Five-Year Plan and our disciplined approach to allocating capital to the highest-returning growth opportunities" (Property Week). The same article notes that Whitbread is running a GBP 1.5bn sale-and-leaseback programme, in which a company sells property it owns and then rents it back.
What does the buyer say about its plans?
The Caterer reports that the project supports Zedwell's ambition to operate 9,000 rooms across its portfolio by 2028 (The Caterer). Criterion Capital's own release of 20 March 2026 cites "a current and committed pipeline of 9,000 rooms by 2028" (Criterion Capital). The brand announced plans for three new outposts in Oxford, York and London in March, according to the same report.
Property Week counts seven Zedwell locations across central London, among them a capsule hotel at Piccadilly Circus, and lists 28 hotels in the wider Criterion portfolio (Property Week).
Why it matters
Our view: Whitbread held City planning approval for a hotel on a building it bought for GBP 56.5m, and still sold it (Whitbread, Property Week). On Property Week's account, having the approval was not enough to keep Whitbread building.
Two scenarios, neither a forecast. If conversion economics keep favouring operators that retain structures and hold a single brand, then more City offices with approval for a hotel could change hands before work starts. If the 509-room scheme is delayed or reshaped, then the City's office-to-hotel pipeline may prove slower than approvals on paper suggest.
FAQ
Who bought New London House?
Zedwell Hotels, the hotel brand of Criterion Capital, bought it from Whitbread, which owns Premier Inn (Property Week).
How much did Zedwell pay?
The price was not disclosed. Whitbread paid GBP 56.5m for the building in 2023 (Whitbread, MCA Insight).
What happens to the building?
The 89,722 sq ft office is to become a 509-room hotel (Property Week).
When a consented site can be sold on, who is better placed to deliver the hotel: the owner who won the consent, or the specialist who buys it?
