Travelodge on the hunt for acquisitions

Budget hotel chain, Travelodge, is planning an aggressive programme of acquisitions and is to set its sights on three and four-star hotels who are struggling as the credit squeeze has a devastating affect on the hospitality industry.

The programme follows the collapse of a planned merger with rival budget hotel operator Premier Inn, owned by leisure giant Whitbread, in March.

Premier Inn is the largest hotel chain and is Whitbread’s biggest and best performing business. A tie-up would have created a budget hotel group with 800 hotels.

Travelodge has funds of £200 million which it will target mid-market hotels that it could convert to the Travelodge brand.

The hotel chain has already signed deals for city centre sites in Edinburgh, Coventry and Bath and in the next 18 months it proposes to add up to 20 coastal and regional city hotels to its portfolio.

Travelodge is owned by Dubai International Capital (DIC), the private equity group owned by the Arab Emirate’s ruling sheikh. Its chief executive is Grant Hearn.

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