Hotel portfolio sale abandoned as bids come in too low

  Fund manager aAIM has cancelled the sale of a £350m portfolio of six hotels after it failed to attract the level of interest wanted.   The group, based in London’s Piccadilly and in which Bank of Scotland Corporate owns a 20% stake, put the package up for sale in March.   A source close to the proposed sale said: “The principals of aAIM and Bank of Scotland have sorted out a refinancing so that they can hold on to the portfolio. It made more sense for them to refinance in the current market.”   The four-star hotels, which include the Hotel Russell in London and The George in Edinburgh, are operated by Principal Hayley Group. They were bought by aAIM from private equity group Permira for £275m in a sale-and-leaseback deal in 2006. Christie & Co was marketing the portfolio.   * Private investor Geoffrey Margolis has also pulled the sale of a mixed portfolio of nine properties he brought to market earlier this year.   Margolis put his property company Mumbojumboworld Group up for sale for around £67m in March, but the assets did not attract interest at an acceptable level.   The mixed portfolio, based in London and the South East, includes the 60,000 sq ft Butterfly Walk shopping centre in Camberwell, SE5, and around 100,000 sq ft of offices, retail and leisure in Leatherhead, Surrey.   The business was being sold through MERJS.   annabel.dixon@rbi.co.uk