Topland has acquired the parent company of Menzies Hotels out of administration as part of a drive to build a £1 bn hotel business.
Topland has acquired the parent company of Menzies Hotels out of administration as part of a drive to build a £1 bn hotel business.
The investment volume for the acquisition of the hotel group was close to £85 mln (€103 mln).
Menzies had been part of the Project East portfolio of hotel loans being marketed by Lloyd's Bank, but it was removed, enabling the separate sale.
Topland Group, led by Sol Zakay, is one of the largest privately owned international investment groups in the UK. It already owns a number of hotels including Bath’s Royal Crescent Hotel, the Brighton Metropole, the Glasgow Hilton and a portfolio of Thistle Hotels, six of which are in central London and one in Edinburgh.
The Menzies acquisition, which was completed on 29 November, seesTopland acquire 12 hotels and Bakum House, the company’s freehold head office in Derby.
The hotel portfolio is spread across the UK, from Aberdeen to Bournemouth and ranges in size from the 18-bedroom Flitwick Manor in Bedfordshire to Menzies Aberdeen Airport, which is one of Aberdeen’s largest hotels with 212 bedrooms.
The jewel in the crown is the Menzies, Stratford-upon-Avon which is a luxury country house hotel set in 63-hectares of parkland and gardens, in the shadow of the Welcombe Hills.
The property features seven timeshare suites and apartments, a luxury spa and health club and an 18-hole championship golf course.
Topland has appointed Bespoke Hotels, the UK’s largest operator of independent hotels, to operate the group, taking its portfolio to over 100 and adding further geographical reach across the UK.
Topland’s chairman and chief executive Sol Zakay said: 'This acquisition was an exceptional opportunity to acquire a profitable, highly rated, hotel group which provides an excellent additional platform for us to drive forward our strategy of building a £1 bn hotel platform. The group as a whole is entering a particularly active phase across a number of fronts including property investment and property lending.'
