15
Business
London venue
surpasses
target
A.O.B:
Hotel partners with
train firm for events
Central Hall
Westminster has
announced that it
has exceeded its
sales target by
£1m and has
achieved its
highest turnover on
record of £9m
since the venue
opened in 1912.
The venue has
spent £200,000
on refurbishments
and contributed
£1.7m to the funds
of the Trustees of
CHW Ltd, a charity
which provides
grant funding for
other charities.
The 165-bedroom DoubleTree
by Hilton has announced a
partnership with Hull Trains,
which aims to bring high-profile
events to the city.
The hotel will provide clients
with a range of offers and
discounts on travel.
Hull Trains runs 92 direct
services a week from Hull and
the Humber region, which are
direct to London. It has recently
invested £60m on five new
Hitachi trains.
GOOD
MONTH
FOR:
London venue
Somerset House says it
generated over £2m
through its commercial
events activity in 2019.
The funds have been
re-invested to cater for
its 3m annual visitors.
BAD
MONTH
FOR:
etc.venues has
announced it will
be investing a
further £20m in
new spaces
globally in the
coming year.
HRH Queen Elizabeth II
has had a rotten
month. No sooner had
Prince Andrew been
‘demoted’, than Prince
Harry decided to tender
his resignation.
Blackstone to acquire
MGM Grand and Mandalay
Bay for $2.5bn
MGM Resorts International is selling the MGM
Grand and Mandalay Bay resorts and casinos on
the Vegas strip, for about $2.5bn (£1.9bn).
The sale is reported by the Los Angeles Times,
which says it is entering into a joint venture with
private equity company Blackstone and MGM
Growth Properties LLC.
The joint venture will be owned 50.1% by MGM
Growth Properties and 49.9% by Blackstone.
It will also acquire the real estate assets of
Mandalay Bay from MGM Growth Properties and
lease both properties to MGM Resorts for an
initial rent of $292m. The total value of the two
transactions is $4.6bn.
Blackstone has been making inroads into the
events and hospitality industries in the past
year. In October 2018, it became owner of the
UK’s NEC Group for a reported £800m. It is also
the owner of international events organiser
Clarion Events.
The deal is targeted to close in the first quarter
of 2020.
www.conference-news.co.uk
Last chance saloon
for Flybe
The Government has agreed a
rescue plan for regional airline
FlyBe, in the face of serious
financial troubles.
It was reported, 14 January,
that the airline, which is a
major carrier of passengers
from regional areas of the UK,
was facing collapse.
Government ministers have
agreed to work with FlyBe to
help create a repayment plan
for tax debt reported to top
£100m. UK Business
Secretary Andrea Leadsom
said the deal would keep the
company operating, although
specifics of the deal have not
been disclosed.