Travelodge’s owners are preparing to appoint advisers to explore a circa £1bn sale of the value hotel chain.
If the owners combine the business with 144 hotels bought last year from Nick Leslau’s Prestbury Investment Holdings, the business could reportedly be valued at £1.6bn.
Present owners Goldman Sachs, Avenue Capital and GoldenTree Asset Management took control in 2012 after Travelodge faced the threat of collapse under a £500m debt mountain.
The consortium has since reduced the chain’s debt from £635m to £329m following restructuring.
The news of a potential sale comes as the budget operator announced a 63.5% hike in EBITDA for 2014 to £66.2m, a 16.8% rise in revenue per available room to £34.24 and a 14.9% rise in revenue to £497.2m.
The sales figures from the year ended December 2014, were driven by the hotel’s £100m modernisation programme which is near completion.
The group is continuing expansion of its 500-strong estate, and has identified 250 sites across the UK with 150 expected to open over the next eight years.
Chief executive Peter Gowers said: “The value hotel market remains strong and we continue to outperform our competitive set. We see considerable potential for further like-for-like sales growth and are targeting the roll-out of the brand to at least 250 further sites across the UK.”
