Four British hotels are set to open their doors as part of the Mercure portfolio within the next four months, increasing the brand’s footprint to 75 hotels in the UK.

Located in London, Scotland, Milton Keynes and Darlington, the latest franchise agreements will add 394 rooms to the Mercure network and will create over 120 jobs across the regions.

Commenting on the expansion, Jonathan Sheard, managing director of operations, MGallery and Mercure Hotels UK & Ireland said: “We are delighted to welcome our new partner hotels to the Mercure network in the UK.

“Each hotel has its own unique story and represents an exciting new destination for business and leisure travellers alike.

“We are committed to significantly growing our Mercure hotel portfolio by 2015 and this will largely be driven through our growing franchise development in the UK.

“We are delighted to welcome these four new hotel partners, all of which are a natural fit for the Mercure brand.

“By joining with our business, our franchise partners will be able to boost their hotels’ existing exposure through the use of our brand name and benefit from our existing expertise, powerful global distribution networks and committed sales force.”

First to open is the Mercure Darlington Kings Hotel, which launched last week, followed closely by the Mercure London Greenwich Hotel and the Mercure Eddleston Barony Castle Hotel and Spa in Scotland later this month (October).

The Mercure Milton Keynes Abbey Hill will launch in January 2013.

Mercure is the second largest mid-scale hotel worldwide - outside North America - with a network of 724 hotels in 51 countries.