Whitbread has signed a joint venture agreement with real estate developer Emaar-MGF to roll out its recently rebranded Premier Inn budget hotel group in India.

The 50:50 team venture will invest around £300m over the next decade to develop 80 hotels (12,000 rooms) aimed at business and leisure travellers in the Delhi region and the cities of Chennai, Goa, Hyderabad and Chandigarh.

Whitbread chief executive Alan Parker said: “Our entry into India will fill a gap in the country’s hotel market by providing high-quality branded budget hotels. The pace of economic development in India is quite phenomenal; and importantly for us there is rapid growth in both business and leisure travel markets.”

Shravan Gupta, executive vice chair of Emaar-MGF, added: “This alliance will introduce a new affordable class of branded hotels for the discerning Indian traveller looking for the best amenities at reasonable prices.”

Premier Inn signed a joint venture with Emirates last year to roll out the brand in the Gulf region. Its first site is under construction in Dubai and is due to open in 2008.