MONTH IN REVIEW
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HOTEL SALES
Hotel Indigo
Glasgow sold for
£14.5m
Property investment firm, Maven
Property, has completed the sale of
Hotel Indigo Glasgow to Singapore-
listed real estate firm, Heeton
Holdings, for £14.5m.
According to to the group Glasgow
remains one of the “best performing
hotel markets” in the UK, but added
there have been “relatively few hotel
transactions” in the city and said it
has been “gratifying to see the level of
interest in the Indigo [brand]”.
Ramsay Duff, investment director at
Maven, said: “This historical landmark
building is located in the heart of one of
the UK’s most vibrant and cosmopolitan
cities. Maven has a strong commitment
to Glasgow, with our headquarters here
and with two other hotels including our
recently opened ibis Styles Glasgow
Centre West.
“We are delighted to have completed
the sale, which has delivered attractive
returns for investors, in part by the way
we structured the transaction. The hotel
was one of the very first developments
to be funded utilising Business
Premises Renovation Allowance and it
is very satisfying to see it having come
right through the entire process; from
its original redevelopment, subsequent
years of successful trading, and its
ultimate sale.”
With this opening we now
operate hotels by the UK’s top
20 largest conference and
event centres
Paul Harvey, managing director
of property, Travelodge
November 2018
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HOTEL INVESTMENTS
£5bn already
invested in UK
hotels by Q3 2018
The UK hotel sector has witnessed
transactions totalling almost £5bn up
to the end of Q3 September 2018, an
increase of 27% on last year, according
to the latest research by global
property adviser Knight Frank.
Knight Frank said portfolio activity
dominated hotel investment in the
year to date, totalling £3.1bn (56%)
of investment. Regional portfolio
investment transactions have totalled
£2.2bn outstripping London.
It also found that this led to the
average price per room sold outside
of London increasing by over 50%, to
approximately £150,000 per room, with
a larger proportion of corporate, full
service hotels transacting in the mid and
upscale markets contributing to the rise.
Philippa Goldstein, hotel analyst at
Knight Frank said: “The diverse range
of portfolio sales is evidence of the
demand sought for quality hotel stock.
Furthermore, London in particular is
benefitting from a growing number of
long-term investors, with experience in
the cyclical nature of the hotel market,
who are using their confidence and
know-how to invest in prestigious,
quality single asset hotels.
“The London hotel business remains
buoyant, the continued devaluation
of sterling and London’s established
position as one of the world’s leading
hotel markets continues to drive visitation
to the city. Despite the average price per
room transacting in London remaining
static, equating to around £306,000 per
key, investor confidence has shown little
sign of abating, irrespective of Brexit
and the weight of the new hotel supply
entering the market.”
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FINANCIAL UPDATES
EasyHotel reports
‘transformational’
year as total sales
rise by 25%
EasyHotel has reported a 25%
increase in total sales in what it calls a
“transformational” year.
During the six month period ending
30 September 2018 the budget hotel
chain said total system sales rose from
£37.2m, up from £29.7m the previous
year. Like-for-like revenue at franchised
hotels also grew by 12%, and revenue
per available room increased 11% at its
group-owned hotels.
EasyHotel also opened five new hotels
and add four new franchisee hotels.
Combined, this resulted in a portfolio size
increase of 42% and increased the total
network of 33 hotels across 27 cities.
The group also announced it will also
be undertaking a full refurbishment of
its property at 80 Old Street. The board
said it has taken the decision to shut
the entire building from December
2018 instead of a rolling refurbishment
programme and expects to re-open the
building as a 89-bedroom hotel and
15,500 sq ft of office accommodation in
the second half of 2019. The total cost
for the development is expected to be
approximately £7m.
The group said it will also look to
increase it offering in Europe and will
initially focus on Spain, France and
Germany, where it said the board
believes there is “potential for the
brand to target 10 to 15 cities” in each
of the three countries. It also said a
dedicated team has been appointed to
lead the expansion.
Guy Parsons, CEO of EasyHotel
plc, said: “Whilst we are mindful of
the current economic uncertainty
facing the UK, our simple, stylish and
highly affordable customer proposition
resonates well with today’s cost-
conscious traveller and has underpinned
strong RevPar growth over the period.”
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