Travelodge has exchanged contracts with LPC Living for the construction of its first hotel in the London Borough of Hackney. Located at the former Gibbons furniture store site on Amhurst Road and adjacent to Hackney Central Train Station, the 80-bed hotel is expected to open in the summer of 2014. It will be the first branded hotel accommodation in the heart of the Borough and will create 15 jobs when open.
The Travelodge hotel forms part of a broader £20m redevelopment by LPC Living which also includes 50 serviced apartments and two ground floor retail units. Construction is scheduled to start this spring with Anglo Holt appointed as contractors.
Strettons acted on behalf of Travelodge, with Kingsbury acting on behalf of LPC Living. This will be LPC Living’s second Travelodge development, with the company having previously built Travelodge’s Salford Quays hotel in Greater Manchester.
Neil Short, Development Manager for Travelodge in North London, said: “The new hotel is in a fantastic location on Amhurst Road, next to Hackney Central station and part of an exciting, £20 million mixed-use development by LPC. We will be delighted to open what will be the first branded hotel in the heart of Hackney.
“Whilst the Olympic Games have brought a lot of attention to East London, the long-term business fundamentals for a hotel in Hackney are clear. Considerable recent investment in public transport, a burgeoning business and cultural environment and a lack of good quality, affordable hotel rooms mean Hackney is a great location for a Travelodge.”
Simon Ashdown, Development Director at LPC Living, said: “Our experience in transforming redundant pieces of land into thriving mixed-use developments and creating new employment opportunities for the local community lends itself perfectly to this prime site in Hackney.
“Travelodge are the perfect partner in this equation and I am delighted to be extending our relationship with them following the success of our Radclyffe Park development in Salford.”
Travelodge now has 56 hotels open in the London Boroughs, with 13 further sites under construction or legally secure, making Travelodge the largest hotel brand in the capital. The hotel company now has a site in 27 London boroughs.
The Travelodge development team is actively looking for a further 48 sites across London which, when realised, will ensure the company has a hotel in located in each of the capital’s boroughs.
Tony O’Brien, UK Development Director for Travelodge Hotels, said: “London has an undersupply of good quality, affordable hotel rooms in Zones 1 and 2, and a shortage of any type of hotel in the suburbs.
“Trading has been superb for us in London throughout the recession, with hotels reaching mature occupancy levels within weeks of opening.
“Our London target list has a further 48 locations in the capital and we will be making further announcements soon about some exciting exchanges.”
