Wetherspoon to open three more budget hotels

Pub company JD Wetherspoon is set to open three new Wetherlodges in the next six months.

"We bought two hotel sites, so it made sense to convert them and we've been meaning to do convert the other site since we bought it two years ago," said managing director John Hutson.

The Portland Hotel in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, will open as a Wetherlodge and a pub at the end of March with 24 bedrooms.

The Brocket Arms in Wigan, Lancashire, was opened as a JD Wetherspoon pub in December 1999 but its hotel rooms were boarded off. They are now being refurbished and 29 bedrooms will open in May.

The former Cummings Hotel (left) in Inverness is being developed at a cost of £1.2m to create the King's Highway pub and a 25-bedroom budget hotel.

It will be the sixth lodge in three years for the company. There are already Wetherlodges in Shrewsbury, Birmingham and Glenrothes, Scotland.

Room rates are £30 and £35. Average occupancy is about 75%.

Hutson aims for a 20% return on investment. "The buildings are usually historic and refurbishment costs average £20,000-£25,000 per room," he said.