The Royal Bank of Scotland, which was the majority lender on the debt, took control of the £1bn property portfolio when debt-for-equity restructuring payments were not met.
RBS this week appointed Ernst & Young as administrative receivers to the 42 hotels. With around 8,000 rooms across the portfolio, this is thought to be one of RBS’ largest individual real estate receiverships.
Business as usual
All 42 properties will continue to be operated by Marriott during the administration process, and no change is expected in any level of the business of the hotels, said Ernst & Young.
“It is business as usual for the portfolio. Marriott will continue to operate the hotels and this decision will not affect customers, suppliers or employees of the hotels.”
Background
RBS bought the four- and five-star hotels in 2006 for £951m from a Whitbread/Marriott joint venture.
It then sold them off for £1.1bn in 2007 (retaining around £700m of the debt used to finance the acquisition) to Quinlan Private, Igal Ahouvi and Delek Real Estate, who own the British Virgin Islands-based Professional Ventures Corporation (PVC).
When PVC, the holding company for the portfolio of hotels, was unable to pay its loan interest, Ernst & Young was on Tuesday appointed administrative receiver.
Sale of Marriott hotels
Ernst & Young will now look to sell the portfolio of hotels, located in England, Scotland and Wales, with the aim of recovering as much of the debt as possible.
A new board has been appointed to run the property companies under PVC that own the individual hotels, and this board will be advised by Earnst & Young on the “potential sale”.
Marriott, which still has 25-years left on a 30-year management contract it had signed on the hotels in 2006, will in all likelihood continue to operate the hotels even after a potential sale, Ernst & Young told BigHospitality.
The hotels are:
- Aberdeen Marriott Hotel
- Birmingham Marriott Hotel
- Bournemouth Highcliff Marriott Hotel
- Cardiff Marriott Hotel
- Edinburgh Marriott Hotel
- Newcastle Marriott Hotel Gosforth Park
- London Marriott Hotel Kensington
- Liverpool Marriott Hotel City Centre
- London Heathrow Marriott Hotel
- Manchester Airport Marriott Hotel
- Newcastle Marriott Hotel Metro Centre
- Peterborough Marriott Hotel
- Portsmouth Marriott Hotel
- Sunderland Marriott Hotel
- Swansea Marriott Hotel
- Swindon Marriott Hotel
- Waltham Abbey Marriott Hotel
- York Marriott Hotel
- Bexleyheath Marriott Hotel
- Bristol Marriott Hotel City Centre
- Bristol Royal Marriott Hotel
- London Marriott Hotel County Hall
- Durham Marriott Hotel Royal County
- Glasgow Marriott Hotel
- Huntingdon Marriott Hotel
- Leeds Marriott Hotel
- London Marriott Hotel Maida Vale
- London Marriott Hotel Marble Arch
- Northampton Marriott Hotel
- Preston Marriott Hotel
- London Marriott Hotel Regents Park
- Heathrow / Windsor Marriott Hotel
- Marriott Breadshall Priory Hotel & Country Club
- Marriott Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club
- Marriott Forest of Arden Hotel & Country Club
- Marriott Hollins Hall Hotel & Country Club
- Marriott Meon Valley Hotel & Country Club
- Marriott St. Pierre Hotel & Country Club
- Marriott Sprowston Manor Hotel & Country Club
- Marriott Tudor Park Hotel & Country Club
- Marriott Worsley Park Hotel & Country Club
- Leicester Marriott Hotel