Copthorne Tara may convert to private apartments - for more hospitality stories, see what the weekend papers say

Copthorne Tara may convert to private apartments
Millennium & Copthorne is considering redeveloping the Copthorne Tara Hotel in Kensington into luxury apartments to cash in on the boom in demand. – The Times, 24 February.

York may get its first five-star hotel
Hospitality business Marmadukes and property developers the Helmsley Group want to turn York's derelict Bonding Warehouse into the city's first five-star hotel. The partnership's bid is among 10 tenders submitted to York Council before yesterday's deadline. – Yorkshire Post, 24 February

Travel Inn looking to expand in India and China
Travel Inn boss Patrick Dempsey has said India and China are both candidates for future expansion. “But we need to be careful we don’t take our eye off the ball in the UK,” he added. – Sunday Times, 25 February

Domino's Pizza boss sells £22.5m of shares
Directors at home-delivery chain Domino’s Pizza decided to sell more than £22.5m worth of shares last week, following the announcement of solid year-end results. Non-executive director Nigel Wray raised £3.2m after offloading 491,000 shares at 670p each, while a trust for his children sold a further 2.2 million shares at the same price. Wray’s beneficial interest in the group is now down to 11.4 million shares, representing just over 22% of the company. – Sunday Times, 25 February

Costa Coffee aims to expand in China
Whitbread chief executive Alan Parker is preparing to visit China to look at the Costa Coffee shops the company has recently opened there, and to examine further possibilities for the region. – Sunday Times, 25 February

Sale of Scandic Hotels close to completion
Scandinavian investment company EQT is closing in on a deal to buy Scandic Hotels, the 130-strong Scandinavian chain, for about £510m from Hilton Hotels Corporation, which acquired Scandic in February last year as part of its takeover of Hilton International, which owned the rights to the Hilton brand outside America. – Sunday Times, 25 February

Major investor in two London hotels sells 50% stake
Lehman Brothers, the US investment bank, has sold its 50% stake in London’s St Martins Lane and Sanderson hotels in a deal valuing the properties at more than £154m. – The Times, 24 February

Chinese restaurant chain wants eight more sites this year
Tasty, the AIM-listed owner of Dim T, the chain of dim sum restaurants, is to open eight new sites this year, taking its total to 14. – The Times, 24 February

By Bob Gledhill

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