The owners of Travelodge have reportedly appoint Deutsche Bank to advise them on a £1 billion sale or stock market flotation of the hotel chain.

Investment bank Goldman Sachs and hedge funds GoldenTree Asset Management and Avenue Capital have owned Travelodge since rescuing the business in 2012, when it had £500m in debts.

This morning, the hotel chain reported an 18% rise in half-year revenues to £261m after the completion of an £100 million investment programme. They also saw a 63.5% surge in underlying profits to £66.2m in 2014, with revenues up 14.9% to £497.2m.

Travelodge chief executive Peter Gowers told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the hotel chain’s owners were “not natural long-term holders” of the business, pointing out that when they took over the company in 2012 they restructured its debts and invested in the business to get it back on track.