Travelodge and PRUPIM are delighted to announce the acquisition of the former four star Mercure London Gatwick Airport hotel for an undisclosed sum. The 257 room property will undergo a significant refurbishment and expansion programme to convert the hotel in line with the Travelodge brand.
This investment will include refurbishing the rooms and updating the reception area alongside the conversion of the hotel’s 11 meeting rooms, three restaurants, swimming pool and gymnasium into additional rooms increasing, subject to gaining normal approvals, the room total up to 400 beds. The hotel will continue to trade as usual whilst the work is carried out.
This new acquisition is Travelodge 85th going concern deal. Since the start of the recession, Travelodge has taken over 66 existing hotel businesses (3,245 rooms).
This deal will boost the company’s portfolio to 470 hotels and 33,204 rooms.
Guy Parsons, Travelodge CEO said: “We are delighted to have acquired the Mercure hotel. It’s a great addition to the Travelodge estate. We have been looking for some time to increase the number of rooms we have at Gatwick, to match our offering at Heathrow airport. Finding the perfect site close to the airport with adequate rooms has been a tough challenge but I am delighted that we are able to add this fantastic hotel to our brand. With this deal we have tripled our room stock at the airport but there is still a huge potential to grow further at the UK’s second largest airport and we are looking for more new sites.
With competitive property prices, we expect to continue to grow by acquiring midmarket hotels, convert office blocks and invest in co-partnerships with pub companies.”
Travelodge currently has 18 hotels, located in all the major UK airports which includes: Heathrow, Gatwick, London City, Luton, Stansted, Manchester, Leeds Bradford, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Newcastle and East Midlands.
The new hotel will be called Gatwick Airport Central Travelodge and is just minutes away from the airport. It is located at: Povey Cross Road, Gatwick, RH6 0BE.
There is a shuttle bus service to ferry customers from the hotel to the airport terminals throughout the day. Rooms will be available from £19 and can be booked at www.travelodge.co.uk.