Hotelier Travelodge is to create around 550 new jobs through a £100m, 36-site expansion programme in partnership with British pub companies by 2015.

Travelodge is now actively working with Greene King, JW Lees, Marston’s, Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) and JD Wetherspoons to find further development opportunities across the country.

Recent job creation announcements from UK’s pub firms include:

• Greene King seeking to add 200 pubs to their estate by 2015 in order to reach 1,100 outlets. Pub brands include Hungry Horse and Belthaven, specialising in Scotland
• Marston’s to add to their 500 sites by opening 20 new pubs in 2011 and 25 in 2012. Their brands include Pitcher and Piano and their own Marston’s Inns
• JD Wetherspoon to open 50 new sites a year for the next decade
• M&B to add 50 sites this year and 70 hotels in 2012. With 15 brands, including Harvester, Toby Carvery and All Bar One, M&B currently has 1,600 restaurants and pubs in the UK

Paul Harvey, Travelodge managing director for development, says: “The pub companies have noticeably stepped up their development plans over recent months and in many parts of the country their target locations correspond with ours.

“We have been contacted by all the major players in the market and we are now pro-actively seeking out sites with them. A combined hotel/pub development is attractive to banks and funders, making the development process a lot quicker than it otherwise may be”.