Budget chain Travelodge has exchanged contracts on nine new hotel development sites.

The deal, worth £28.3m, includes nine sites across the UK and will add 568 rooms to the company’s portfolio representing 12.5 per cent of its annual room target.

The new properties are located in Cheshire, Poole, Newport, Felixstowe, Devizes (Wiltshire), St Helens (Merseyside), Fort William (Scottish Highlands), Clacton and Ashbourne. All nine hotels will be trading under the Travelodge brand within the next 18 months.

Paul Harvey, Travelodge’s property director, said, “This announcement demonstrates our strong development pipeline and we are well on our way to reaching our target of 4000 new rooms by the end of the year.

Travelodge intends to treble the size of its estate by 2020, targeting a 10 per cent share of the UK hotel market.

In 2008 the hotel chain plans to open 44 new hotels.