Oriel has cash in place for Holiday Inn Express hotels

Oriel Leisure has secured £5m investment as part of its plan to open at least 20 Holiday Inn Express hotels over the next three years.

Investment bank Bankers Trust last week put forward £1m and has guaranteed a further £4m as and when it is needed, in return for a 45% stake in the company.

Existing investment by English & Overseas Properties, which has a 55% stake, gives the firm total equity of £11.4m to cover the cost of its first phase of eight hotels.

Oriel, which has two Holiday Inn Express franchises, is to open further branches in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, in the autumn and Canterbury next year. It has a further six sites under negotiation.

Michael Brooker, chief executive of Oriel, said that an agreement with Bass Hotels & Resorts, which owns the Holiday Inn Express name, involves building new hotels whenever possible, rather than converting existing hotels.