Hotel giant Travelodge will build 35 hotels this year as part of an aggressive expansion plan. The £300m investment will bring the company’s estate to 495 hotels. Travelodge said the move was part of an aggressive growth plan for the business, which will see the firm increase its number of hotels to 1,000 by 2025.

Over half of the hotels being built this year are in UK cities, including eight in London. Travelodge said it will become the largest single hotel brand in the capital this spring. Guy Parsons, chief executive of Travelodge, said: “The hotels we will build this year have been a result of Travelodge’s commitment to expand during the recession whilst many companies put their development on hold.

“As a result of the recession, we have successfully acquired superior sites due to lower market property prices, which otherwise would not have been available for hotel use. “Our aggressive growth plan has continued to drive Travelodge’s presence in city centres where over half of our hotels are now located.”