EasyHotel buys Birminghan city centre property

(ShareCast News) - Budget hotel operator easyHotel said it was trading in line with expectations in both its owned and franchised hotels, as it announced the acquisition of a new property in Birmingham.The group has conditionally bought the 125 year leasehold of 81-91 John Bright Street in Birmingham's city centre, which it intends to convert into an easyHotel.The purchase of the property, which is located 120 metres from the new entrance to Birmingham New Street Station and 500 metres from the Bullring shopping centre, is subject to obtaining planning consent for a hotel.The company estimated the total cost of the purchase and conversion to an 84-room hotel at around £4.5m.Chief executive Guy Parsons said: "Along with its six universities and internationally reputed arts scene, Birmingham is also the UK's fourth largest tourist destination, with 34 million visitors in 2014."We see significant opportunity for easyHotel to service business customers and leisure visitors to Birmingham's lively events programmes and look forward to building our brand presence in the city."EasyHotel said the current financial year to date has seen an acceleration in both the owned and franchised hotel development pipelines "as it continues to establish itself as the leading branded super budget chain".At 1437 GMT, easyHotel shares were up 2.5% to 90.18p.