RBS sells on Marriott hotels for EUR 1.6 bn

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has sold a portfolio of 47 Marriott Hotels to a consortium led and advised by Irish private equity group Quinlan Private (QP) and Israeli real estate investor Igal Ahouvi Group (IA Group) for £1.1 bn (EUR 1.6 bn).

RBS acquired the hotels from a Whitbread and Marriott joint venture for about £951 mln in early 2006 and the deal with QP and IA Group was agreed at the end of the year. The portfolio includes 47 four and five-star luxury hotel sites across the UK on 30-year management agreements. Thirty nine of the hotels are located in England with five in Wales and five in Scotland.

This was the first major investment by QP's recently opened London office. QP is the single largest investor in the portfolio. IA Group is investing on behalf of a consortium of international investors including Electra, First International Bank of Israel and Delek Real Estate.

QP and IA Group will jointly control all decisions with QP leading the asset management function. QP manages a number of hotels, including the Four Seasons hotels in Dublin, Prague and Budapest, the Maybourne Hotel Group of super-luxury hotels in London and Targa Hotels in Central Europe.