Permira-owned Travelodge has bought the Drury Lane Moat House hotel in London for £11m.
The 163-bedroom hotel in High Holborn, WC2, has been sold as part of Queens Moat Houses’ efforts to pay off £630m of debt and make a payment to its shareholders.
Travelodge has secured the Drury Lane leasehold as part of the aggressive expansion strategy launched after its sale by Compass Group to Permira Investment Fund Managers last year.
The hotel will be re-branded as a Travelodge.
Christie & Co advised QMH on the sale.
This is Travelodge’s first acquisition of a going concern in London.
Drury Lane adds to its other central London properties on Grays Inn Road, WC1, where it has 140 bedrooms, and at Harrow Place near Liverpool Street Station, E1, where it has 142 bedrooms.
Roberts said the chain is also in advanced negotiations to buy two central London office blocks to convert into hotels with more than 300 bedrooms.
“We’ve never really had the tools to do central London properly. We’ve now got the backing and management will to drive this forward,” he said.
“Our expansion strategy since we’ve been owned by Permira is phenomenal and that requires more and more property for us.”
Travelodge wants to reach 3,000 rooms in London in the next two to three years. In particular it is targeting locations close to major rail links such as Waterloo, Victoria, Paddington and Euston.
References: EGi News 26/03/04
