One of Britain's biggest budget hotel operators will walk away from 49 of its hotels, including four in Scotland, and write off £700 million debts under a controversial rescue deal.

Travelodge, which owns more than 500 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain and employs over 6000 staff, said the deals will secure its long-term future and free it of much of its crippling debt burden.

It wants the landlords of 49 hotels to cut rents by 45% over the next six months while it seeks new operators and is asking for a 25% rent cut for a further 109 sites it wants to keep.

There were no current plans to close hotels or make job losses.

A spokesman for accountancy firm KPMG, which is supervising Travelodge's company voluntary arrangement, said four Scottish hotels were among the 49 which the budget chain has earmarked for transfer to other operators.

He said these hotels were at Whitletts roundabout in Ayr, the Kilmarnock by-pass, and at Shandwick Place and Belford Road in Edinburgh.

As part of a wider financial restructuring, it has agreed that £235m of bank debt will be written off and £71m will be repaid, bringing its debt down to £329m, while a further £476m of loan notes will also be scrapped.

Travelodge chief executive Grant Hearn said: "This is a successful brand with millions of customers and the company will emerge in excellent shape from this process."

However, for the rescue deal to go through, it will need the support of 75% of creditors at a vote on September 4.

The British Property Federation called for a review of controversial com-pany voluntary arrangements (CVAs), which leave landlords out of pocket and allow companies to write off debts.

But accountancy firm KPMG said landlords at affected hotels will see a return of 23.4p in the pound compared to just 0.2p if the company was to be placed into administration.