Travelodge takes on Campanile portfolio
Hotels in Salford and Liverpool are among nine Campanile hotels to be acquired by the budget brand, with two further deals taking Travelodge’s UK portfolio to 599 locations.
Travelodge said that the portfolio acquisition forms part of the company’s focus on targeting rebrand opportunities as part of its UK and Spanish growth plans.
The nine Hotel Campanile venues include the Salford hotel, off Regent Road, and the Liverpool hotel near Queens Dock.
Across the nine hotels, there are a combined 951 rooms, Five hotels will be acquired on a freehold basis and four as long-leasehold. No financial details have been disclosed.
The other locations are in Birmingham, Bradford, Dartford, Leicester, Northampton, Milton Keynes and Swindon.
Travelodge has also exchanged contracts on a former Ibis in Bromsgrove and a formerly independent operation in Wakefield, which traded as CitiLodge.
Steve Bennett, chief property and development officer at Travelodge, said: “The acquisition of these hotels marks another positive step in our UK development strategy, as we seek to grow and optimise our estate of hotels and enhance value by diversifying our freehold and leasehold split.
“There are still many locations throughout the UK and Spain where we can open a new Travelodge hotel, to provide great value and quality accommodation.
“Acquisitions of properties which can be rebranded to Travelodge are a key part of our development strategy, as we look to continue to grow our footprint. We have a requirement to open over a further 300 hotels across the UK, and are seeking prime opportunities when they become available.”
Founded in 1985, Travelodge bills itself as Britain’s first budget hotel chain. It now has a portfolio of more than 600 hotels with more than 47,000 bedrooms across the UK, Ireland and Spain, welcoming more than 22m guests per year. A rolling refit programme has seen upgrades for more than 50% of the Travelodge room estate to its new design, the group said.
Rival Premier Inn is also expanding in the North West, announcing last year it plans to open 24 further locations in the region. Premier Inn has more than 850 UK hotels.
