The Manchester office of Cobbetts has completed another successful year of acquisitions for longstanding client, Whitbread, including some headline grabbing deals in and around the Capital.

The Cobbetts team, led by partner Paul Inman, with assistance from Simon Worrall, David Frankland and Naveen Gupta, has completed deals which will add over 1600 rooms to the company's Premier Inn hotel portfolio, the majority of which are now under construction, as well as exchanging contracts for a further 2750 rooms as the company embarks on a significant opening programme over the next three years.

A particular focus has been on increasing Premier Inn's representation in London in the run up to the 2012 Olympics and beyond, with 15 of the deals, representing over 3000 potential bedrooms, being for sites in this region. These included a package of four potential new build hotels at major airports - two at Heathrow, one at Stansted and a 600 bed hotel at Gatwick, and very recently a flagship 267 bed hotel at Westfield's Olympic Shopping Centre adjacent to Stratford International Station, served by the high speed Channel Tunnel rail service.

Commenting on the busy year, Cobbetts partner, Paul Inman, said: "We are proud of the relationship we have built up with Whitbread over many years, and have been really excited by the size and significance of some of the deals we have acted on this year. The pipeline is as strong as ever, and we are pleased to play our part in helping the Premier Inn and restaurant brands cement their place as market leaders."

John Bates, national head of acquisitions for Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants commented: "Once again, Premier Inn has out performed its rivals and secured some of the best sites around the UK for further expansion. We are indebted to Paul and the rest of the Cobbetts team for their hard work and perseverance in helping to get so many deals over the line in a year when the recession and continued lack of developer funding has inevitably meant that transactions are harder to conclude."