EZH.L Regulatory News (EZH)

10 November 2015

easyHotel plc

Master Development Partnership in Middle East

easyHotel plc ("easyHotel" or the "Company") (AIM:EZH), the owner, developer, operator and franchisor of "super budget" branded hotels, is pleased to announce that it has signed a Master Development Partnership with MAN Investments LLC (a UAE owned commercial and investment group), to develop easyHotels in the Middle East.

MAN Investments will focus its new developments in the UAE and Oman, and the new easyHotels are expected to comprise new purpose-built assets and conversions of existing hotel and/or office buildings. MAN Investments' development program targets an initial opening of 600 rooms by 2017. Following these openings, MAN Investments are targeting at least 1,600 rooms by the end of 2020.

MAN Investments has already secured land or properties which will accommodate the 2017 openings. For example, the first hotel will be a 300 room easyHotel built in the Bur Dubai area of Dubai. Bur Dubai is recognised as being the trading hub of Dubai and the UAE. This flagship project will mark the start of intensive development under the new Master Development Partnership across these regions. easyHotel will enter into a franchise agreement for each hotel which will be developed.

This partnership has been signed against a backdrop of continued growth in the UAE and Oman and in particular Dubai governmental support for the building of budget hotels, ahead of Dubai hosting the World Expo, Expo 2020. The Dubai Ministry of Tourism is targeting growth of more than 30% in inbound tourism, to 20 million by 2021.

Guy Parsons, Chief Executive of easyHotel said,

"We are delighted to enter into this new partnership with MAN Investments. MAN has established a significant geographical foothold in the region in a number of business areas, many of which are targeted towards value conscious consumers, which makes them a great cultural fit for easyHotel. With land prices currently at a premium, their capacity for speed and scale of development is impressive and a considerable competitive advantage.

"We expect the partnership to drive rapid growth for the easyHotel brand in the Middle East that should deliver further shareholder value. The partnership will greatly improve brand awareness in the Middle East, giving us a platform to consider further opportunities in the region."

A spokesperson for MAN said,

"We are excited to be partnering with the easyHotel brand. We see a significant gap in the budget sector in the entire region. Currently there are no hotel brands offering a combination of great value and superb quality and we feel that easyHotel is perfectly designed to take advantage of this opportunity."

Enquiries:

MAN Investments +971 (4) 259 9995

Strategy & Corporate Planning: strategy@minvestments.com

Notes to Editors:

easyHotel

easyHotel is the owner, developer, operator and franchisor of branded hotels. Its strategy is to target the "super budget" segment of the hotel industry by marketing "clean, comfortable and safe" hotel rooms to its customers. easyHotel currently has three owned hotels comprising 390 rooms, and a further 18 franchised hotels with 1,490 rooms.

Owned hotels:  Old Street (London), Glasgow, Croydon

Franchise locations: Bulgaria (Sofia), Czech Republic (Prague), Germany (Berlin, Frankfurt), Hungary (Budapest), The Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague), Switzerland (Basel, Zurich), UAE (Dubai), UK (Edinburgh, London)

MAN Investments:

MAN Investments is a UAE commercial and investment group and is the investment arm of the private office of Mohammed Juma Al Naboodah. MAN Investments builds on a heritage that spans over 60 years in the UAE and the region.