Budget hotel chain easyHotel has received a €50 million commitment from current shareholders Ivanhoé Cambridge and ICAMAP to support its future growth strategy.
The additional money, together with recently secured bank funding, will be used to develop or acquire new assets in key European cities.
The brand currently has an estate of 42 hotels with a total of 3,977 rooms.
By 2026, easyHotel aims to more than triple the size of its owned and leased estate which currently comprises 15 hotels, with a total of 1,723 rooms, in the UK, France and Spain.
easyHotel said its focus on its “budget model” has enabled the company to “successfully navigate through the pandemic.
It has opened two hotels over the past 18 months – in Cardiff and Oxford – and started work on five new properties, in Paris Charles de Gaulle, Barcelona, Dublin, Paris Aubervilliers and Cambridge.
It said it has been performing above pre-Covid levels, with occupancy rates regularly exceeding 80% since August.
Since October most properties are reaching growth rates of about 10% on a like-for-like basis compared to the same period in 2019.
Karim Malak, chief executive of easyHotel, said: “The investment strengthens our position to capitalise on the strong underlying structural drivers across our markets, allowing us to continue to build and develop our estate in key cities across Europe.
“Our industry is starting to see a recovery following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated lockdowns.
“Trading at easyHotel has been particularly good in recent months and at times has been even stronger than pre-pandemic times.
“Recently we have become more relevant than ever as consumers look for low-cost and low- carbon options in areas near to tourist attractions and events, whilst tightened corporate travel budgets make easyHotel a practical and secure choice for business visitors seeking optimal value for money.”