Two French hotel chains, Accor and Groupe Envergure, are planning to expand in the lucrative budget hotel market in the UK.
Michael Flaxman, managing director for northern, eastern and central Europe at Accor, said that the group was looking for joint-venture partners in the UK to expand its "one-and-a-half-star" Etap hotel chain.
Accor currently has only two Etaps in the UK - the 81-bedroom Etap London City Airport and the 69-bedroom Etap London East Barking.
Flaxman said that the group wanted to open a minimum of 40 Etaps in gateway towns and city centres over the next two years, and eventually to expand the chain to between 200 and 250 properties across the country.
Groupe Envergure, which owns the Campanile chain of budget hotels, has also set its sights on the UK. Last week it opened a 106-bedroom hotel in Glasgow, taking its total number of properties in Britain to 15.
Later in the year it will open a 93-bedroom hotel in Leicester, and it has started work on an 80-bedroom hotel in Northampton, scheduled to open in 2004.
It also hopes to open a property in Edinburgh and is currently on the lookout for possible developments.