LEISURE group De Vere is considering a move to join the race for the £500m-rated budget hotel chain Premier Lodge.
De Vere, owner of Slaley Hall, in Northumberland, confirmed it had been talking to investment group Sun Capital about buying the operation from pub company Spirit.
Earlier this month, Sun Capital was one of four bidders to reach the second round of the auction. Whitbread is also believed to be still in the running.
De Vere once owned Premier Lodge, but sold it to Scottish & Newcastle in 1999. It was then a much smaller operation with 69 sites.
Premier Lodge is the UK's third largest budget hotel brand, with 140 lodges nationwide.
De Vere said it believed the budget hotel sector would continue to grow strongly and that Premier Lodge would sit well alongside its mid-market Village Hotels and upmarket De Vere Hotels brands.
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