Irish property company Quinn Group has bought the 324-bedroom Belfry hotel in Birmingham from the De Vere Group for £186m.
The hotel, which has hosted the Ryder Cup golf tournament and is home to the headquarters of the European PGA, will continue to be managed by De Vere for the next 25 years.
The price achieved is at a 47% premium to the hotel’s net book value of £126.2m. Completion of the sale, which is subject to shareholder approval, is expected before the end of March.
De Vere chairman Peter Daresbury said: “The sale of The De Vere Belfry, at a near 50% premium to its book value, will enable the Board to return around £183m to shareholders. The sale and manage back structure will enable De Vere to continue to operate the hotel under the De Vere brand for 25 years without the need to employ the group’s capital.”
De Vere said it had no current intention of selling any other of its existing hotels, with or without management contracts.
References: EGi News 10/02/05
