RBS and Patron Hotels have taken over the management of five East Anglia hotels through their Jupiter Hotels joint venture.
Freeholder RBS Real Estate Asset Management said it worked on the deal after their tenant filed for administration.
After negotiations with the administrator, RBS passed the management of all five hotels to Jupiter Hotels Management, a new management company created by its 50:50 Jupiter Hotels jv.
The portfolio of Choice Hotels comprises four three-star Quality Hotel-branded properties in Bury St Edmunds, Colchester, Peterborough and Kings Lynn, as well as the four-star 76-bedroom Clarion Collection Hotel Cromwell in Stevenage.
As a result of this new contract, Jupiter Hotels now has a portfolio of 3,177 rooms across 31 owned, leased and managed hotels around the UK.
This transaction follows Jupiter Hotels’ £110m purchase of a portfolio of 26 Ramada-branded Jarvis hotels, comprising 21 freeholds and five leaseholds, from administration in September 2011.
Helen Gordon, global head of RBS Real Estate Asset Management, said: “Having been notified by the administrator that the hotels’ operator had filed for administration and that, as a result, they were going to close, we worked quickly to ensure that these five important local businesses are kept open and over 130 jobs were saved.
“We believe that this agreement represents the best possible outcome for the hotels and their staff, as they are able to continue trading and leverage both RBS and Jupiter’s expertise in the hospitality sector.
“We are also very pleased that our quick action has allowed us to honour a number of bookings for important and often once in a lifetime events such as weddings, which had already been paid for and were therefore at risk.
“Furthermore, we have been able to increase Jupiter Hotels’ exposure to midscale hotels as we look to return these businesses to profitability, and establish Jupiter as a market leader in this segment.”
bridget.o’connell@estatesgazette.com
