European privately-held investor LRC has acquired Glasgow-based Amaris Hospitality and agreed to purchase seven Hilton branded hotels in the UK from Oaktree Capital Management.
Financial details were not disclosed.
Peter Stack has been appointed managing director of Amaris Hospitality, having previously been managing drector of asset management with the group.
'We are very excited about working with our new owners LRC Group and as the addition of these seven hotels demonstrates together we have ambitious growth plans for the business. Our strategy will continue to focus on developing and growing our employees, achieving operational excellence and creating a high performing hotel portfolio with a view to delivering long-term, sustainable returns for investors. Key to our strategy will be acquiring and investing in established hotels trading under acclaimed international brands in key strategic locations and we're delighted to have added seven more DoubleTree by Hilton hotels to our portfolio,' Stack said.
The transaction for the seven hotels, which all trade under the DoubleTree by Hilton brand, is expected to close later this year.
Under the deal, Amaris Hospitality will become LRC's new hotel investment and management platform and will manage the new hotels on behalf of LRC, bringing the total number of hotels in the Amaris Hospitality portfolio to 30.
Accelerated growth
The addition of the new hotels forms part of LRC's plan to accelerate the growth of its hotel investments and through Amaris Hospitality create a high performing, long-term investment portfolio of over 50 high-quality, internationally-branded hotel assets, the company said.
The seven Hilton-branded hotels comprise over 1,000 rooms and extensive conferencing facilities and employ approximately 900 people. They are located in Bristol, Strathclyde, Southampton, Dartford Bridge, Newbury North, Coventry and Edinburgh Airport.
LRC was advised by Paul Hastings and Deloitte. Oaktree was advised by CMS and JLL's Hotels and Hospitality Group.
Commenting on the deal, Will Duffey, co-head of European Hotel Transactions at JLL said: 'This transaction represents the successful culmination of the strategic repositioning of Oaktree’s portfolio in line with its business plan.'
He added: 'With transaction volumes up by 35% between 2016 and 2017, reaching an impressive £4.5 bn (€5 bn), it’s clear this transaction is another example of the strength of the wider UK hotel market, with M&A playing a major influence in this growth.'
