Patron Capital and RBS have sold a UK hotel portfolio for £160m (€216m) to a Thai joint venture.
The opportunistic fund manager sold the 26 hotel ‘Jupiter’ portfolio four years after purchase from distressed hotel group Jarvis.
Patron had managed the portfolio in a joint venture with West Register, the Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) assets specialist subsidiary.
The portfolio of branded hotels had been languishing in RBS’s restructuring unit since owner Jarvis defaulted on its original loan in 2010.
Jupiter Hotels, a 50/50 joint venture between Patron and West Register, was created as part of the 2011 deal, with hotel operator Accor managing the portfolio under its Mercure brand.
Camil Yazbeck, investment director of hospitality and leisure at Patron Capital, said: “We have worked closely with a new management team to rebrand, refurbish and invest in the hotels and staff.
“The resulting improvements in trading and customer satisfaction have enabled us to achieve a successful exit and an excellent return for the investors.”
The sale sees a joint venture between Singha Estate, the real estate investment and development arm of the Boon Rawd Brewery Company, and FICO Holding, a subsidiary of Thailand-based FICO Group, become the portfolio’s new owners.
In another UK deal this year, Patron Capital sold a petrol-station platform for £500m to the Motor Fuel Group.
Patron had bought a 87% stake in an initial 48 sites in 2011 for its Fund IV vehicle.
