Travelodge announces UK expansion

Project to cost £115 million

 Budget hotel chain Travelodge is to open 26 new hotels across the UK.

Owners, Dubai International Capital, said the opening programme would cost in the region of £115 million.

The expansion will create more than 2,000 rooms and some 500 jobs.

Three new properties are to open in Edinburgh and two in London.

Other locations include Chichester, Maidenhead, Canterbury, Chester, Horsham, Hull, Maidstone, Northampton, Rugby and Wincanton.

Travelodge chief executive Grant Hearn said the company had chosen to invest in spite of the recession.

He said growth in domestic tourism in 2009 helped the business remain strong amid the difficult trading conditions.

"Despite a very challenging market, we have chosen to invest and grow throughout the recession and for many more years to come," he said.

"We set about making sure we had a pipeline for growth coming out of the recession because we know that the cycle of the hotel industry is very regular,"

Hearn admitted last year had been tough but emphasised that is was "by no means a disaster", adding: "We are very, very optimistic and ambitious for the future."

www.travelodge.com