Aviva Investors By The Seaside | Aviva Investors, the asset management business wholly owned by insurance group Aviva, has paid a reported £6.86 million for the Travelodge Bournemouth Seafront Hotel. The purchase price reflects a net initial yield of a reported 6.2%. The 110-room hotel, one of two Travelodge hotels in the resort of Bournemouth, on the south coast of England, was sold by a private individual.
From StayAt To Scandic: A Malmö Metamorphosis | If you happen to be in the city of Malmö, in southern Sweden, at the beginning of June this year, you might be lucky enough to witness the metamorphosis of the StayAt Hotel. The hotel is currently undergoing an extensive renovation and it will emerge from its chrysalis on 7 June as the 243-room Scandic Malmö City. This property, which is owned by Norwegian property management company KLP Eiendom, will be Scandic’s fourth hotel in the city.
The UK's Eighth Doubletree Goes To Lincoln | There’s nothing wrong with the number seven…it’s a perfectly respectable digit – Snow White had seven dwarfs and there were seven wonders of the ancient world. Hilton Worldwide, however, wasn’t content with having just seven Doubletree by Hilton properties in the UK; Hilton thought that eight was a much better figure, so it signed a franchise agreement with UK-based Brayford Hotels for a new Doubletree hotel in the city of Lincoln, in east central England. The 115-room Doubletree by Hilton, Lincoln is to be constructed on the site of a former electricity power station and it is expected to be completed at the end of 2011. This is Brayford Hotels’ first development.
Ician Holiday Inn Express – Up There, In Manchester | Ician Developments, a subsidiary of Muse Developments, has started work on the construction of a Holiday Inn Express hotel in Manchester. The 192-room hotel, which is due to open in summer 2011, will stand adjacent to the Crowne Plaza Manchester City Centre, in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, and will, like the Crowne Plaza, be a part of the hotel portfolio of Centre Island. Funding of a reported £10 million was provided by the Co-operative Bank’s Liverpool corporate banking centre.
Hilton On A High At Earth's Lowest Point | Any hotel company worth its salt likes to be beside the seaside on the Dead Sea, and here comes Hilton Worldwide with its first property in this location. A management agreement signed by Hilton and Dead Sea Resorts paves the way for the construction of the Hilton Dead Sea Resort & Spa as part of Emaar International Jordan’s mixed-use Samarah Dead Sea Resort. The 285-room hotel, which is due to open in the final quarter of 2013, is linked to the King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Centre, which Hilton is to start operating soon.
Just As Big, Only Fresher | The largest four-star hotel in Amsterdam is back on the scene after an extensive refurbishment. Two stars – Lodewijk Asscher, the acting mayor of Amsterdam, and Gilles Pélisson, Accor’s chairman and chief executive – were on hand for the ceremonial pulling back of the dustsheets covering the 610-room Novotel Amsterdam City.
Grosvenor Victoria To Take The Guoman Brand | The Grosvenor Victoria, in London, is to become Guoman Hotel Management (UK)’s fifth property in the UK; the group currently operates four other hotels in London. The 357-room hotel, formerly known as the Thistle Victoria, is to be rebranded next year after undergoing a year-long refurbishment, which is due to start this August.
Hartman Heads For Retirement | Richard Hartman is to retire as the chief executive of Millennium & Copthorne (M&C) by the end of 2010, the company has announced. Mr Hartman, 64, will though subsequently remain on the board as a non-executive director and a senior adviser. M&C has begun the search for a successor to Hartman, who joined M&C in April 2008.
Gladen's Tidings | ABBA has signed the sale and leaseback of the four-star ABBA Castilla Plaza, in Madrid. The 228-room property was sold to a group of Spanish private investors led by Grupo Milenium for €33 million, a yield of more than 7%. Meanwhile, Accor has introduced the All Seasons brand to Spain. The new brand will be focusing on three-star hotels. The company is planning to open two or three new properties in Spain by the end of the current business year, and is projecting five new hotels a year in the future. By Esther Gladen, Business and Market Intelligence Analyst, HVS Madrid
Adrian Jones (On Trumpet: Russell Kett | Russell Kett, managing director of HVS London writes, “Adrian will be leaving HVS at the end of May, having been with us for almost ten years. During this time he has overseen the transformation of our editing team and set the very highest standards for the quality of our reports and other written output. Adrian is also of course our resident humorist who has brought smiles to many of the readers of our weekly e-newsletter with his subtle witticisms and turns of phrase which have helped to ensure our publication remains not just a newsletter of the highest calibre but also a firm favourite among our clients and contacts. So thank you, Adrian, for all you have done for us and we wish you well for the future.”
About HVS | HVS is the world’s leading consulting and services organization focused on the hotel, restaurant, shared ownership, gaming, and leisure industries. Established in 1980, the company performs more than 2,000 assignments per year for virtually every major industry participant. HVS principals are regarded as the leading professionals in their respective regions of the globe. We are client driven, entrepreneurial, and dedicated to providing the best advice and services in a timely and cost-efficient manner. Through a worldwide network of 30 offices staffed by 400 seasoned industry professionals, HVS provides an unparalleled range of complementary services for the hospitality industry. For further information regarding our expertise and specifics about our services, please visit www.hvs.com
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