Owners of budget hotel brand Travelodge are reportedly preparing a £1 billion sale or stock market float of the company.
According to The Daily Telegraphowner’s Goldman Sachs, GoldenTree Asset Management and Avenue Capital are close to putting it on the market.
The three firms have owned Travelodge since 2012, when it was struggling and had debts worth £500 million.
The news comes as the hotel group reports revenue growth of 17.9 per cent helped by “significant” growth from business travellers.
The hotel group said “quality and consistency” was helping win support from the business sector.
Travelodge also reported average room rates up by 11.4% to £48.19 and occupancy up by 2.4 per cent to 74.4 cent for the six months ending July 1, 2015.
Upgraded hotels
Since 2013 the company has embarked on a £100m investment programme, with the plan to change ownership once a turnaround programme was completed.
Travelodge CEO Peter Gowers said: “Customers are responding well to the upgraded quality levels driven by our £100m modernisation programme. Businesses are choosing Travelodge in ever larger numbers.
“Our development momentum is beginning to accelerate. We opened 5 hotels in the first half of the year and we expect to open a further 45 over the next 24 months.
“We have already exchanged contracts for more new rooms in the first half of 2015 than we did in the whole of 2014. Boosted by our strong trading performance and the attractions of the value segment, major developers and financial institutions are showing their confidence in the future of new Travelodge,” he added.