Lone Star’s hotels business Amaris Hospitality has appointed a former Lloyds director to help expand the business to £2bn within the next five years.
Joe Green, previously M&A director at Lloyds, is joining as head of development.
He will be responsible for identifying development opportunities for the Amaris group and expanding its portfolio.
Green worked in the bank’s commercial real estate business support unit, which was set up in 2009 to tackle distressed loans.
Lone Star has worked previously with the Lloyds business support unit, including winning its £900m Project Royal UK non-performing loan portfolio in 2011.
Amaris, which has 74 hotels, will focus on its three branded divisions: Jurys Inn, Accor, and its international division, which includes the Hilton and Crowne Plaza brands.
Green will initially focus on expanding the Jurys Inn portfolio by targeting leasing opportunities as well as development sites.
He said: “The growth will be opportunity led, and we are already in negotiations on sites.
“We do not have a specific goal for the number of rooms we want to open,” he added.
“This is about financial return and it all comes down to the rebranding.”
Lone Star is expected to sell or float the business within the next two years.
Lone Star is already in the process of selling a £600m portfolio of Atlas hotels, which comprises 47 Holiday Inn Express hotels and one Hampton by Hilton.
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