Sale of significant UK hotel portfolio

RNS Number : 7642O

Christie Group PLC

11 August 2014

 

11 August 2014

Christie Group plc

Sale of significant UK hotel portfolio successfully brokered by Christie + Co

Christie Group plc, ('Christie Group' or the 'Group'), the leading provider of Professional Business Services and Stock & Inventory Systems & Services to the leisure, retail and care markets, is pleased to announce that Christie + Co, its specialist provider of agency and advisory services has successfully brokered the sale of eleven QMH UK hotels.

The hotels have been acquired for an undisclosed sum by Marathon Asset Management after Christie + Co brought them to the market in February following a highly competitive sales process.

The nationwide portfolio consists of approximately 2,000 bedrooms within three Crowne Plaza hotels, seven Holiday Inn hotels and one Best Western PLUS in key trading locations from Glasgow to Plymouth.

Jeremy Hill, Christie + Co, says:"This was a rare opportunity to acquire a ready-made portfolio of hotels with a profitable trading profile. The group has benefited from an ongoing extensive multi-million pound refurbishment programme with recent investments in key assets including Crowne Plaza Glasgow, Holiday Inn Stratford-upon-Avon and Crowne Plaza Chester."

"Marathon Asset Management has acquired a strong portfolio that gives it a platform from which it will be able to fulfil its ambitions for further hospitality investments in the UK and continental Europe. With business travel accelerating in the UK, the portfolio's footprint covers markets that are extremely well-positioned for future growth. Marathon intends to further accelerate the portfolio's growth through a substantial investment programme."

Enquiries:

Christie Group plc
David Rugg Chief Executive	020 7227 0707
Daniel Prickett Chief Financial Officer	020 7227 0700
Peter Fermoy Christie + Co Head of Media Relations	020 7227 0794
Charles Stanley Securities Nominated Adviser & Broker Russell Cook / Carl Holmes	020 7149 6000

Notes to Editors:

Christie Group plc, quoted on AIM, is a leading professional business services group with 43 offices across the UK, Europe and Canada, catering to its specialist markets in the leisure, retail and care sectors.

Christie Group operates in two complementary business divisions: Professional Business Services (PBS) and Stock & Inventory Systems & Services (SISS). These divisions trade under the brand names: PBS - Christie + Co, Pinders, Christie Finance and Christie Insurance: SISS - Orridge, Venners and Vennersys.

Tracing its origins back to 1846, the Group has a long established reputation for offering essential services to client companies in agency, valuation services, investment, consultancy, project management, multi-functional trading systems and online ticketing services, stock audit and inventory management. The diversity of these services provides a natural balance to the Group's core agency business.

For more information, please go to www.christiegroup.com.

 

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