The administrators of Pedersen Hotels and Pedersen Caterers instructed CBRE Hotels to market five of the group’s hotels in Sheffield, Winchester, Reading, Newbury and Bristol.
The Crowne Plaza Reading has been sold to Redefine Hotels Reading (RHR), a subsidiary of Redefine International, for £12.8m. The hotel has a franchise agreement with Six Continents Hotels which is due to expire in 2025.
The 95-bedroom, four-star Sheffield Park Hotel has been acquired by private investor syndicator Hotbed, in partnership with hotel operator Longrose Buccleuch, for £4m. Hotbed invested £2.5m of equity, while Santander Bank contributed the remainder. The hotel will be rebranded as a Hilton Doubletree by the end of July.
The 108-bedroom, four-star Regency Park Hotel in Newbury was sold to a private overseas investor with an existing hotel portfolio in the UK. The 98-bedroom, four-star Winchester Hotel was acquired by Quantum Hotels, a subsidiary of Camarvon Hotels.
Both the latter hotels were acquired for an undisclosed sum. It is thought they will both remain unbranded, independent operations.
Hotel investment market
Paul Bartrop, director at CBRE Hotels, said; “The sale of these hotels clearly signifies the attraction of the UK hotel investment market to both domestic and overseas investors. The forthcoming Olympic tournament coupled with other major events will continue to strengthen the market and provide a solid investment platform for hoteliers and investors.”
The fifth hotel, the 131-bedroom, four-star Novotel Bristol Centre, was sold to unidentified clients of Invista Real Estate Investment Management for £14.5m in November 2010.