Golden Tulip Hospitality intends to purchase hotel assets directly in the UK, now that 15 of its hotels and developments have been sold to Whitbread. The hotel group is making an initial sum of £50 mln available for acquisitions in the UK, where it expects 20 Tulip Inns and 10 Golden Tulips will be developed within the next five years.
Golden Tulip Hospitality intends to purchase hotel assets directly in the UK, now that 15 of its hotels and developments have been sold to Whitbread. The hotel group is making an initial sum of £50 mln available for acquisitions in the UK, where it expects 20 Tulip Inns and 10 Golden Tulips will be developed within the next five years.
On Wednesday, Whitbread revealed that it had bought six hotels in the UK under the Tulip Inn and Golden Tulip brands and nine further sites for £44 mln. Whitbread said that the hotels would be converted to the Premier Inn brand at a cost of £9 mln. The six hotels that are already open will be re-branded by the year-end, while the hotels under development are to open in the next two years.
Hans Kennedie, President & CEO of Golden Tulip Hotels, Inns & Resorts: 'Over the past five years Golden Tulip (UK) has successfully developed and operated several Tulip Inns and one Golden Tulip. The results have been positive and it clearly appeared that the brands are strongly preferred by the British customers. The fact that the hotels have been sold to Whitbread is a development which happens in our industry and we just have to continue on our journey to provide the British market with our hospitality brands. I am confident that we will be back on the road soon again.'
