Budget hotel chain Travelodge has bought two central London hotels from Thistle for £55m.
They are the 375-bedroom Thistle London Islington and the 211-bedroom Thistle London Ryan, both currently four-star and situated in the King's Cross area.
The acquired hotels will be open as Travelodges from tomorrow (22 June), charging £45-£85 a night.
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They will then be converted to the Travelodge limited-service format, including the addition of some 50 new bedrooms.
Travelodge is funding the acquisition through a sale-and-leaseback on the properties with Kirkmore Securities, which has bought the freeholds for £55m and leased them back to Travelodge for 35 years.
The deal will give Travelodge nearly 2,000 bedrooms in central London, across five hotels, and about 14,000 bedroom nationwide, across 240 properties.
It follows the group's acquisition in March of the 163-bedroom Drury Lane Moat House for £11m.
Travelodge said the additions would complement the existing 140-bedroom Travelodge in King's Cross, which opened in December 2003.
Chief executive Grant Hearn said the deal "significantly strengthens Travelodge's presence in London, and is consistent with our strategy of further expansion into city centres."
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