Budget hotel company Sleeperz has secured a £7m investment to fund future growth in the UK, with a target of 10 hotels by 2015.
The business opened its first hotel - a 74-bedroom property - in Cardiff 18 months ago and will begin construction on a 98-bedroom hotel in Newcastle in the autumn, with an opening date of October 2011.
Finance for the expansion of Sleeperz has been raised from the company's current investors, including Andre Hoffmann, and a new investor, Connection Capital. The debt finance for the Newcastle hotel is being provided by the Co-operative bank.
Further development sites have already been identified in Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester.
Sleeperz Hotels' chief executive David Myers said that raising finance is currently very tough and that to secure £7m of investment is an exceptional achievement.
"The hotel market is littered with single-site niche businesses that have failed to expand and progress to develop a second hotel," he said.
"Sleeperz brings something new and exciting to the market and, with the backing of major investors, we are here for the future."
The Sleeperz hotel in Newcastle is said to mirror the same ethos of the company's Cardiff property with its focus on compact, stylish, air-conditioned rooms in a prime central location. The Cardiff hotel achieved 60% occupancy during its first year in operation.
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By Janet Harmer
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