EasyHotel has raised £140,000 by disposing of part of a building in Ipswich which is to be converted into a new hotel.
The ground floor part of the overall property acquired a year ago for £800,000 is to become a coffee shop.
New of the disposal came as the budget chain announced that a new hotel management system is to be introduced “to further leverage its revenue management and dynamic pricing strategy, to maximise income”.
In a trading update ahead of the company’s annual meeting today, easyHotel reported that it has continued to make good progress since the start of the current financial year and trading for the 12 months to September 30 is in line with expectations in both its owned and franchised hotels.
The group has 1,833 rooms under development, 801 of which are owned and 1,032 are being developed by franchise partners. Eight new hotels are due to open this year.
Hotels are being built in Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Ipswich are ‘progressing well’.
The Birmingham property opens later this week, with Liverpool and Manchester in March and Ipswich in the summer.
Additional hotels in Sheffield and Leeds are expected to open next year, subject to planning permission.
Franchise hotels in Reading and Belfast are expected to open in the next financial year.
Planning permission was granted for a 204-room new hotel in Barcelona which is due to open next year.
Chief executive, Guy Parsons, said: “The UK hotel market improved in November and December with revpar [revenue per available room] growing in both months compared with 2015.
“Our owned hotels have continued to outperform the general market and their individual competitive set, as measured by STR Global.
“A similar market improvement has been experienced across much of continental Europe and our franchise hotels are performing in line with their respective markets.
“We remain on track to open eight new hotels, four owned and four franchised, in the current financial year and continue to make good progress in adding new projects to our development pipeline.
“Trading is in line with our expectations and we remain focused on implementation of our strategy as we continue to extend our footprint and establish easyHotel as the leading super budget hotel chain.”