easyHotel to launch in Africa

easyHotel, the budget hotel brand owned by serial entrepreneur Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has announced it has signed a 20 year master franchise agreement (“MFA”) with Lonrho Budget Hotels Ltd, a subsidiary of Lonrho PLC, to open and operate an easyHotel network across Africa.

The company plans to open 50 hotels over the next five years and will focus on African destinations served by easyJet, as well as other large cities across the continent which have demonstrated significant domestic and international demand for clean, safe and consistent quality branded hotel accommodation.

Commenting on the MFA, Stelios, Chairman of easyGroup, said: “easyGroup is delighted to be working exclusively with Lonrho to develop the easyHotel network across Africa. We look forward to working closely with Lonrho to establish easyHotel as the pre-eminent pan-African budget hotel chain.

“The economic development of the African market, supported by the significant number of foreign visitors, large scale urbanisation and the growing disposable income of the one billion people in the domestic market, clearly provides significant opportunities for growth.”