Travelodge acquires Mercure hotel and triples room stock at Gatwick
Travelodge's purchase of the former four-star, 257-bedroom Mercure London Gatwick Airport hotel will triple the group's room stock in the area.
The property will undergo a significant refurbishment and expansion to convert it to a 400-bedroom hotel, which will be known as the Gatwick Airport Central Travelodge.
Subject to planning permission, additional rooms are to be created from the hotel's 11 meeting rooms, three restaurants, swimming pool and gymnasium.
Guy Parsons, Travelodge's chief executive, said the hotel was 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 huge potential to grow further at the UK's second-largest airport and we are looking for more sites."
Travelodge expects to continue its expansion by acquiring mid-market hotels, converting office blocks and investing in co-partnerships with pub companies.
The acquisition boosts Travelodge's portfolio to 470 hotels and 33,204 bedrooms.
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By Janet Harmer
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