Super budget chain easyHotel is to open its first owned property in France.
The group has exchanged contracts to acquire the freehold of the 87-room Ibis Palais des Congres in Nice for €11.7 million.
The company will also seek planning approval to add a further seven rooms to the property.
The hotel will be rebranded as easyHotel Nice with the deal expected to be completed by October.
The acquisition brings the group’s owned and franchised pipeline to 735 rooms across five hotels due to open in the next financial year ending September 2020, with a further 976 rooms expected to open in the following year.
Chief executive Guy Parsons said: “This investment in our first owned hotel in France is testament to the ambitious plans we have to develop the easyHotel brand in continental Europe.
“We see significant opportunities to develop owned hotels in France and Spain and are confident that we will receive planning permission this autumn for the 209-room hotel close to Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport that we announced last December.
“Attracting over four million visitors every year, the iconic city of Nice is famous as one of France’s premier tourist destinations, with recent years having seen significant investment in the city’s infrastructure and services.
“We are delighted to have secured this excellent site and look forward to announcing further opportunities in due course.”