Hilton Group is to sell its 405-bedroom Olympia hotel in west London as part of a £300m sale-and-leaseback.
The hotel on Kensington High Street, W14, is likely to be marketed at £75m. It is one of 16 UK properties that CBRE Hotels has been appointed to sell to raise cash for Hilton, a substantial part of which will be returned to shareholders.
The group, which owns betting chain Ladbrokes, had investigated a sale of the Olympia Hilton but did not want to miss out on its casino potential.
“The site has great potential if the law is changed so the company will be looking to retain the Hilton flag on the hotel at least,” said a source.
The Olympia is the only London asset in the portfolio, but Hilton is still finalising which properties to sell and may add its Metropole, W2, and Caledonian in Edinburgh.
The group is also said to be considering the sale of several continental properties, including the Hilton Berlin and Hilton Strasbourg.
The Olympia Hilton is the latest in a line of trophy hotels to be put up for sale. Jones Lang LaSalle will call for best bids on Marylebone Warwick Balfour’s Marriott Park Lane, which has a £110m price-tag, within the next six weeks.
References: EGi News 29/04/05
