GoldenTree, a US-based opportunistic, credit-focused hedge fund that owns Travelodge, is to put the budget hotel chain up for sale with £1 billion-plus price tag, according to reports by The Guardian and The Telegraph.

GoldenTree, a US-based opportunistic, credit-focused hedge fund that owns Travelodge, is to put the budget hotel chain up for sale with £1 billion-plus price tag, according to reports by The Guardian and The Telegraph.

The move comes after Travelodge’s other two backers – Avenue Capital and Goldman Sachs, who along with GoldenTree acquired the business in 2012 – sold their stakes to GoldenTree.

The reports cite city sources as revealing that GoldenTree is now in discussions with bankers including Moelis and Goldman Sachs over a potential sale for Travelodge, which employs 12,000 people across nearly 600 sites and is the UK’s second-biggest budget hotel chain behind Whitbread-owned Premier Inn.

Earlier this year GoldenTree struck a deal with Travelodge bondholders to extend the maturity of £440 million in debt from 2025 to 2028.

The extension means that any potential purchaser will an extra three years to either repay off refinance the debt.