Travelodge agrees deal to open new hotel in Stratford

Travelodge, the UK’s first budget hotel chain, which operates nearly 600 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain, has announced that it has exchanged contracts for a new hotel in Stratford, London.

Planning permission has been granted to transform a vacant office building (Gredley House, 1-11 Broadway) into a 151-room Travelodge - which, once open, will be the group’s 85th hotel in London. It will also be Travelodge’s closest hotel to Stratford International Station, offering National Rail, Underground and DLR connections - making it an ideal base for both leisure and business travellers.

The new Travelodge will be built to a BREEAM Excellent standard and will feature the group’s new premium look and feel design, as well as its new 85 Bar Cafe - offering a relaxing and modern space for guests to eat and drink.

Barnes Construction, which was responsible for building London Wimbledon Central Travelodge (opened October 2022) and is also on site building a new Travelodge hotel in London Chiswick, is the appointed contractor for the project and will be commencing construction of the hotel in May this year.

Travelodge has agreed a 25-year lease term with the building’s owner, Unex Group, who has been a long-term investor in the area for over 50 years.

Tony O’Brien, UK Development Director, Travelodge said : “Travelodge is delighted to continue the expansion of our network of hotels throughout London and this new hotel in the thriving hub of Stratford will be a fantastic addition to our portfolio. The site is in a prime location, just moments away from Stratford station and Westfield Stratford City shopping centre, and will attract new visitors to the area.

We have great experience in converting existing office space into Travelodge hotels and are looking forward to working with Unex to bring this former office building back to life. This type of development is a win-win solution for all parties, as it converts redundant space back into economic use, which is a highly sustainable way of developing, delivers significant inward investment and creates new jobs. We are also thrilled to be working with Barnes Construction on yet another successful project and hope this new hotel will be open for trading by the end of 2025.”

Adrian Morris, Managing Director of Unex Group comments: “Unex Group is delighted to have contracted with Travelodge to enable the redevelopment of Gredley House, which was first built by Unex as high-quality offices in the early 1990’s and has been within Unex’s ownership ever since. The building’s design is a perfect fit for conversion to a hotel and we look forward to redeveloping this building for its new use for the next 25 years or more.

“There is a significant amount of captured carbon within the building’s structure, so redeveloping and retaining the existing structure rather than demolishing seemed the most environmentally friendly way to proceed on this project. Unex Group has been developing buildings in Stratford, and the local area, for over 50 years now and remains committed to promoting the City’s continued regeneration, as it has over the years”.

Strettons acted on Travelodge’s behalf to identify the opportunity and agree terms with Unex.

Chris Collins Strettons Agency Director commented, “We are delighted to have secured this central Stratford site for our retained client, Travelodge, and look forward to continuing to assist Travelodge with its significant growth plans in London. A particular focus at the moment is the conversion of town centre offices and residential development sites that can be adapted”.

Ends

For further information, please contact:

Alison McNulty, Property PR Manager, Travelodge on 07774 055285 or email: alison.mcnulty@travelodge.co.uk

About Travelodge

In 1985, Travelodge became the UK's first budget hotel brand when it opened its first hotel at Barton-under-Needwood. Today, we operate nearly 600 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain and annually welcome over 21 million guests.   

With rooms from £35, Travelodge is the ideal base for all business and leisure trips and we aim to offer customers the location, value and quality to suit all their travel needs.

We are currently looking to expand our UK hotel network and we have identified a further 300 locations where we would like to open a Travelodge hotel.

Travelodge employs over 12,000 employees and is dedicated to creating an environment where everyone can learn more, earn more and belong.