A REBRAND of 52 hotels previously owned by Birmingham-based pubco Mitchells and Butlers is nearing completion.
Property and construction consultancy Wakemans, also headquartered in Birmingham, is carrying out the £6m project which sees the Innkeeper’s Lodge hotels become Travelodge Hotels.
The budget accommodation sites were sold by M&B in July as part of a wider disposal programme currently being carried out by the pub and restaurant company.
Quantity surveyors and project managers from Wakemans are visiting each site to rebrand the hotels with the final piece of the West Midlands leg of the programme due for completion early next year.
There are seven Innkeeper’s Lodge hotels in the region undergoing conversion – Sheldon NEC, Sutton Coldfield, Bromsgrove, Kingswinford, Castle Bromwich, Coventry and Stoke-on-Trent.
Sheldon and the first phase in Kingswinford are due to be finished this week while phase two at latter hotel is due for completion in February. All premises will continue trading during the programme.
The 25-year deal between M&B and Travelodge is worth 75m, includes around 2,000 hotel rooms and has a sale and leaseback arrangement for eight of M&B pubs which will yield a further £16m.
Steve Gascoyne, associate director at Wakemans, said: “This is a large, complex project which requires intensive management input.
“Each property is completely different and requires its own schedule of work. However, we are on schedule to complete on time and on budget.”
Wakemans said it initially played a due diligence role on behalf of Travelodge, inspecting the M&B properties and preparing detailed reports which included assessments of environmental hazards, building restrictions, access, condition and a calculation of future costs and liabilities.
If you’re not getting our daily emails, your competitors might be. Click here to check your account settings.
Click here to sign up to receive our new South West business news...
