Whitbread, the hospitality group, has admitted it would be interested in buying the budget hotel chain Travelodge – if the company was up for sale.
Dubai International Capital, the debt-laden private equity firm that owns Travelodge, is restructuring its asset portfolio, prompting speculation that it could sell many of its businesses.
Yesterday, Whitbread – which operates Premier Inn, its own budget hotel chain, Costa Coffee and a clutch of pub/restaurant chains – reported that groupwide like-for-like sales had grown by 7.6% in its first quarter.
Alan Parker, Whitbread’s chief executive, told The Times newspaper: “If Travelodge, or any competitor, became available, then we would have to look at it and think through what are options are. Everything depends on price.”
