Principal Hotels has been bought by a company backed by Japanese bank Nomura for £255m, it was announced today.
The deal will see Grand Hotels Acquisition Company, formed and financed by Nomura’s Principal Finance Group, take control of Principal’s 17 hotels – 14 of which are in the UK.
It is buying the hotels – which includes the Russell in London, Selsdon Park in Surrey and the Palace Hotel in Manchester – from a consortium which includes Bridgepoint Capital and PPM Ventures.
Principal Hotels was originally the subject of a £68m leveraged buyout in March 1994 led by Bridgepoint Capital. Following the deal, Juergen Bartels, who was previously chief executive of Starwood Hotels, will become executive chairman, while Tony Troy will continue as managing director.
Guy Hands, managing director of Nomura’s Principal Finance Group, said: “Principal is an excellent chain of hotels in the growing business and conference market. It has a respected management team which is now joined by Juergen Bartels who is recognised as one of the most successful hoteliers in the world. The combination of his skills with PFG’s proven capability to regenerate customer-facing businesses should make for an exciting future.”
EGi News 26/01/01
