| Featured in this EMEA Hospitality Newsletter - Week Ending 21 January 2005 |
| Golden Tulip Establishes New Partnership | Return to Headlines |
| There is likely to be a new entry in the charts ranking hotel companies by size (based on the number of properties under management and franchise). Coming in perhaps as high as number 11 is the new strategic partnership of Golden Tulip Hospitality (GTH) and Tourism Hotels & Leisure (THL). The partnership will have a total of 534 hotels in 45 countries and each will help the other become a hit in new regions. Thus Australia's THL will bring GTH's brands to the Asia Pacific region, and GTH will return the favour with the Pacific International brand in Europe. Under the terms of the agreement, THL will take a 30% stake in GTH by placing a mix of cash and its own shares. The placement of the shares will in turn give GTH an equity stake of 19.9% in THL. | |
| Shelbourne Hotel Sold: Sweeney On The Case | Return to Headlines |
| A consortium calling itself Kantaka Enterprises, and one that is said to include hotelier John Sweeney and developer Gerry O'Reilly in its line-up, is reported to have paid somewhere between €120 million and €130 million for the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin. Marriott International's lease agreement with former owner the Royal Bank of Scotland, which was signed early last year, is unaffected by the deal and the property remains on course for its rebirth in 2007 as the 276-room The Shelbourne, a Renaissance Hotel. Another hotel once run by Le Meridien making the news this week is what is now The Waldorf Hilton, in London. Hilton International moved in as the manager of the 300-room property in January 2004 and one year on the company has announced the completion of renovation work costing £30 million. | |
| Losan's Third Is Hesperia's Second | Return to Headlines |
| Spanish real estate firm Losan has paid a reported €9 million for the Hotel Le Sablon in the Belgian capital Brussels. The 32-room, four-star property is Losan's third hotel in the city and the second that the company has leased to its compatriot Hesperia Hoteles. What is now the Hesperia Sablon will be a companion for the Hesperia Grand Place. Belgium presents unpromising terrain for skiing, in sharp contrast to Norway. Here, an Olympic gold medal-winning exponent of the sport, Bjørn Daehlie, has reportedly ventured to the town of Trysil in the eastern part of his native land to purchase the 54-room Norlandia Trysil-Knut Hotel for an undisclosed sum. | |
| Accor Starts Out In Ethiopia | Return to Headlines |
| Accor is to team up with the Al Kharafi Group of Kuwait and take its first trip to Ethiopia. Reports from the region suggest that the team will begin work before the end of this year on a US$17 million project that will bring a 140-room Novotel and a 100-room Ibis to the country's capital Addis Ababa. Further down the eastern side of Africa, South African company Legacy Hotels & Resorts International has handed over managerial duties at the Royal Palm Hotel to an unnamed party. The company made the decision after owner Tanruss Investment sold the five-star property in the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam to an unnamed institutional investor for an undisclosed sum. | |
| NH Hoteles Returns To Romania | Return to Headlines |
| NH Hoteles has called by Romania for the second time in four months. In October it came to announce the NH Bucharest, and that hotel in the capital will now be joined by one in the western city of Timişoara. The 83-room hotel is due to open this June. Elsewhere in eastern Europe, reports suggest that Petrol Holding of Bulgaria is to spend US$18.3 million on the construction of a five-star hotel in the Black Sea resort of Pomorie. An opening date of May 2006 has been set. We drop one star as we head to Lithuania, where a four-star hotel is said to be on Baltpark's agenda. The company is ready to spend a reported €1.7 million on the conversion of a building in Vilnius into the Baltpark Superior Pasage Hotel. Baltpark expects to open the hotel in spring 2006. | |
| CP Holdings Close To A Deal In London | Return to Headlines |
| CP Holdings has exchanged a conditional contract with Jarvis Hotels with a view to purchasing the Ramada Plaza Regent's Park. The 377-room property in central London went on the market last February with an asking price of a reported £65 million. CP Holdings has a 53% stake in Danubius Hotels, which fact has led to speculation in the press that the Hungarian chain might be invited to operate the hotel should a transaction be concluded. | |
| HVS International Celebrates 25 Years Of Excellence | Return to Headlines |
| I am writing to you festooned in streamers; oh yes, we're already celebrating here in the London office. HVS International turns 25 on 1 June 2005. What was at first just a small office on Hilton Avenue in Garden City, Long Island, USA has grown into a respected consulting and services organisation with 23 offices worldwide. As I return to my cakes and ale, I encourage you to find out more about us by exploring our website at www.hvs.com. click here | |
| Bourdais Presents | Return to Headlines |
| Dominique Bourdais, a Director at HVS International's London office, is one of the many speakers gracing the Henry Stewart Briefing that is coming up on 25 January at the Radisson SAS Portman Hotel in London. This one-day event will be addressing all aspects of hotel funding. So whether you be hotel owner or operator, surveyor or lawyer you really should be there. For more information you are invited to contact Christiana Sztadhaus +44 (0)207 404 3040 or email [email protected]. | |
Absolute Share Price Performance Over the Past Week 13/01/05-20/01/05
Hilton Group - Morgan Stanley raised its target price from 250p to 290p, noting that the betting arm was less reliant than some of its rivals on fixed-odds betting terminals.
InterContinental Hotels Group - Panmure Gordon initiated its coverage with a 'Buy' rating.
Whitbread - Morgan Stanley placed an 'Overweight' rating on the stock.
