Akkeron Hotels has completed the acquisition of 10 UK hotels from Begbies Traynor, the administrators of Butterfly Hotels and Crowne Hotels. The transaction will increase the number of hotels in the group to 36, employing 1,630 people and with a combined annual turnover of £57 mln (EUR 70 mln), cementing its position as one of the largest regional hotel operators in the UK.
Akkeron Hotels has completed the acquisition of 10 UK hotels from Begbies Traynor, the administrators of Butterfly Hotels and Crowne Hotels. The transaction will increase the number of hotels in the group to 36, employing 1,630 people and with a combined annual turnover of £57 mln (EUR 70 mln), cementing its position as one of the largest regional hotel operators in the UK.
The acquisition will be funded from a combination of existing resources and a new 15-year credit facility.
Akkeron Group, the company formed in 2008 by James Brent, previously global head of Real Estate & Lodging Investment Banking at Citigroup, has bought the Holiday Inn Express in Banbury, Kettering and in Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, Ramada in Bury St Edmunds, Kings Lynn, Peterborough, Stevenage, Cromwell and Colchester, the Best Western Rockingham Forest in Corby and Dudley.
The hotels include a mix of leasehold, freehold and operating management agreements. The leases on six of the hotels have been assigned to the group with deeds of variation which bring their terms into line with the current market. The hotels are a collection of regional three star and budget hotels that in total employ over 200 people with a combined annual turnover of £10 mln.
Akkeron plans to grow its business into the leading provincial UK hotel business with a portfolio of up to 150 regional hotels across the UK. 'This will be achieved by forming sustainable partnerships with banks, leaseholders, local communities, local suppliers and other stakeholders,' it said.
In December Akkeron acquired Forestdale Hotels, a group of 18 three-star regional hotels.
