LRC Group has confirmed that it has bought Lonestar’s Amaris Hospitality platform from Lone Star, as well as the purchase of seven Hilton-branded hotels from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management.
Amaris Hospitality will become LRC’s new hotel investment and management platform, and will manage the new hotels on behalf of LRC.
Lone Star exited the sector in January after agreeing to sell its remaining UK hotels to LRC for close to £600m, as previously reported by EG.
It made 23 disposals from its Amaris Hospitality platform, which are leased to Mercure and Hilton, to the European investment firm. The price reflected a combined yield of around 7%.
The transaction for the seven hotels, which trade under the DoubleTree by Hilton brand, is expected to close this year. The value of the deal was not disclosed.
The deal brings the total number of hotels in the Amaris Hospitality portfolio to 30. LRC Group is aiming to increase this to more than 50 properties.
The seven hotels comprise more than 1,000 rooms and 900 employees.
Peter Stack has been promoted to managing director of Amaris Hospitality, from his previous role as managing director of asset management within the group, to lead Amaris Hospitality.
John Brennan, the group’s outgoing CEO, will become its non-executive chairman. He will also act as a strategic advisor to LRC on all hospitality investments.
The new Amaris Hospitality leadership team is rounded off by Stephanie Gosling, who has been appointed as commercial director; David Webster, its senior operations director, and Kirstine Rowland, head of human resources.
Stack said: “Our strategy will continue to focus on developing and growing our employees, achieving operational excellence and creating a high performing hotel portfolio with a view to delivering long-term, sustainable returns for investors.
“Key to our strategy will be acquiring and investing in established hotels trading under acclaimed international brands in key strategic locations.”
The seven DoubleTree by Hilton hotels to be added to the Amaris Hospitality portfolio are in the following locations:
■ Bristol North
■ Strathclyde
■ Southampton
■ Dartford Bridge
■ Newbury North
■ Coventry
■ Edinburgh Airport [main picture]
JLL’s Hotels and Hospitality Group advised Oaktree alongside law firm CMS. LRC were advised by Paul Hastings (Europe) LLP and Deloitte.
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