British EasyHotel to enter Sri Lanka

• EasyHotel to raise £ 50M for budget hotel expansions
• Plan to set up 200 rooms in Sri Lanka

EasyHotel, the UK-based budget hotel developer and franchise operator, announced on 22 February that it plans to raise £ 50 million through a conditional placing of 45.5 million shares on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to fund its expansion plans in Asia and Europe, which include 200 rooms in Sri Lanka. EasyHotel signed an agreement with UK-based MHA Hatfield Limited for developments of new hotels in Sri Lanka last year. Under the agreement, more than 200 EasyHotel rooms will be delivered, while 100 rooms are set to be opened by 2022.

EasyHotel plans to enhance its position as the budget hotel brand of scale in the UK and in Asia. The new EasyHotels are expected to comprise new purpose-built hotels and conversions of existing hotels and/or office
buildings.

“The proceeds from today’s placing will enable us to continue the acceleration of our owned hotel development pipeline, allowing us to take advantage of the significant opportunities within our markets, delivering enhanced returns for our shareholders and underpinning the long-term growth of the easyHotel brand,” said EasyHotel Chief Executive Officer, Guy Parsons.
EasyHotel’s seven owned hotels currently comprise 702 rooms, and it has a further 19 franchised hotels with 1,641 rooms. It also has hotels under development in Istanbul (300 rooms) and Iran (500 rooms).

EasyGroup, the holding company for budget airline easyJet, holds a 34.6 per cent stake in EasyHotel.

(NF)