UK property asset manager F & C REIT has instructed auctioneer Christie & Co to sell nine Swallow Hotels located in England and Scotland. The hotels, which are available individually or as a group, consist of eight freehold properties and one long leasehold.

UK property asset manager F & C REIT has instructed auctioneer Christie & Co to sell nine Swallow Hotels located in England and Scotland. The hotels, which are available individually or as a group, consist of eight freehold properties and one long leasehold.

F & C REIT acquired 13 Swallow Hotels in 2006 for £70 mln and disposed of three of them earlier this year. The properties being sold now are the 88-ensuite bedroom Belstead Brook Hotel in Ipswich, the 92-ensuite-bedroom Hilltop Hotel Carlisle, the 85-ensuite bedroom Churchgate Hotel, Old Harlow in Essex, the 103-ensuite bedroom Swallow Hotel Gateshead, the 116-ensuite bedroom Swallow Hotel Glasgow, the 122-ensuite bedroom Imperial Hotel in Newcastle, the 78-ensuite bedroom Trafalgar Hotel in Preston, and the 50-ensuite bedroom Three Tuns Hotel in Durham.

The long leasehold site is the 125-ensuite bedroom Swallow Hotel in Stockton-on-Tees. The hotels are being sold free of the existing management and branding. The majority of the hotels are based in central city and town locations and of feature extensive restaurant, bar and conference facilities. With exception of the Three Tuns Hotel in Durham, all the hotels include leisure clubs, with over half of these sites featuring swimming pools.

Christie & Co said the guide prices suit 'the whole mix of national, regional and local buyers'. Christie director Jeremy Jones added: 'It is unusual that such a diverse range of assets, such as this, is brought to the market. These traditional hotels will have broad appeal for owner operators and investors looking to improve them through capital investment and re-branding. We anticipate multiple, competitive offers on these properties.'