Travelodge secures London office building in first freehold conversion deal

Travelodge has completed its first freehold acquisition of an office building in London’s St Paul’s as it seeks to diversify its estate.

 

The acquisition of Genesis House in Godliman Street comes after the budget hotel company wrote to over 100 of the UK’s largest office owners to identify opportunities for conversions.

 

The freehold deal will be self-funded by the Travelodge OpCo Group, while the sellers were advised by Lewis & Partners.

 

The 24,000 sq ft site will be converted into a 95-bedroom Travelodge hotel, complete with on-site restaurant 85 Bar Café, subject to planning permission.

 

Conversion works are expected to begin in early 2026, with the hotel due to open in Q1 2027.

 

The site is currently let to offices on short leases.

 

Jo Boydell, chief executive of Travelodge, said: “The acquisition of Genesis House marks a positive step in our UK development strategy, as we seek to grow and optimise our estate of hotels and enhance value by diversifying our freehold/leasehold split.

 

“Office-to-hotel conversion is a sustainable way of developing, as it allows us to meet the growing demand for budget hotels while reducing the carbon impact that new development brings. We are also happy to be continuing to expand our portfolio in London, where we currently operate 82 hotels, with a further five developments underway.”

 

Travelodge added it sees “significant growth opportunities” across the UK, having identified over 300 target locations.

 

The business was founded in 1985 and has a portfolio of over 600 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain.