The funding injection comes via two refinancing agreements: a £42.5 million loan facility from Santander UK to improve energy efficiency at several properties, and an additional £6 million loan from BRED Banque Populaire to expand in France, including the financing for a new 110-bedroom hotel in Marseille.
The agreement with Santander UK will replace a previous agreement and includes a £7.5 million increase in funds, which will be used for the installation of heat pumps and ‘smart metering systems’ at several UK properties as well as “similar low-carbon works” at nine hotels in France, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands.
The company, which promotes itself as a “low carbon affordable hotel chain”, currently operates 42 hotels in 11 countries, including openings last year in Dublin and Paris.
Its new Marseille property, set to open this autumn, will feature the group’s newest low-carbon room design which, the company claims, emits 21 per cent less CO2 over a 50-year lifecycle than its competition.
The new refinancing agreements follow a ‘record’ 2023 trading year for the company, which saw a 35 per cent year-on-year increase in hotel revenue, while total revenue, including franchised hotels, surpassed €100m for the first time, according to the company.
The UK-based hotel group said two-thirds of its annual sales now come from continental Europe.
EasyHotel CFO Charles Persello, said: "Looking ahead, our development team are working across more new hotel deals than ever before as we step up our growth of low carbon and great value hotels across Europe over the coming years."
The group is currently building hotels in Barcelona, Alicante and Valencia and expects further refinancing deals to be announced for Spain ‘soon’.
Tags: Charles Persello, Europe, EasyHotel
