Budget accommodation owner Safestay (SSTY) is well on its way with plans to expand across Europe. The shares were up nearly 6 per cent to 54p after the company announced that it is buying three hostels from Equity Point Hostels for €3.6m (£3.15m). The deal is being structured as a loan to Equity Point, repaid by granting Safestay the operating leases to the hostels in Barcelona, Lisbon and Prague. The leases run to 2031, 2029 and 2028, respectively, with subsequent five-year renewal periods for Lisbon.
Over the past month, Safestay has more than doubled the total number of hostels it operates from four to 10. Earlier in May the company bought two hostels in Madrid and one in Paris from U Hostels for €3m. Safestay chairman Larry Lipman called the new locations a "strong line-up and a natural fit" with its existing sites in London, York and Edinburgh.
