The chain will be integrated with Whitbread's own budget chain, Travel Inn, under the banner of Premier Travel Inn. The combined chain will have more than 29,000 bedrooms across 461 hotels.
Whitbread is also buying 19 pub-restaurants located alongside some of the hotels, for £31.2m. These will be rebranded as Brewers Fayre by March next year.The businesses being acquired made profits before interest and tax of £29m in the year to 31 December 2003, and £16m in the six months to 26 June this year.
Whitbread expects to make cost savings of £12m after two years of owning Premier Lodge.It will incur one-off costs of £8m this year to cover integration and refurbishment.
