Budget hotel operator easyHotel has bought a site in Barcelona to develop its first owned hotel outside the UK.
Subject to planning permission, the 200-room hotel is expected to open in 2018 for a total investment cost of €15m (£11.2m).
The site is located on Gran Via, the main avenue of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, with links to Barcelona City Centre and Barcelona Airport.
Guy Parsons, chief executive at easyHotel, said: “The Barcelona region is an extremely attractive market for us, with Barcelona being the 12th most visited city in the world.
“The strength of the ‘easy’ brand has already driven significant appetite for our hotels from the Spanish market, with Spanish customers currently accounting for 5% of all easyHotel guests.
“We are confident that there is considerable opportunity to expand the easyHotel brand through a mix of owned and franchised hotels in Europe and in Spain.