A round-up of the weekend’s news affecting the hospitality industry…
Paramount Hotels looks to sell for £215m
Shore Capital and Dawnay Day, the investment firms, are in advanced negotations to acquire Paramount Hotels from Jon Moulton’s Alchemy Partners for about £215m. The two companies are understood to have joined forces to set up a vehicle called Dawnay Shore Hotels, which will use Paramount as a platform for growth in the UK’s regional four-star hotel market. – The Times, 10 July
Bid expected next week for Queens Moat Houses
Goldman Sachs, the US bank, is next week expected to submit an indicative bid for Queens Moat Houses valuing the troubled hotel company at up to £600m. – The Times, 10 July
Pubs may escape smoking ban
John Reid, the Secretary of State for Health, has secretly invited leading pub chains to talks to head off a threatened smoking ban. If they can offer smoke-free areas, he will rule out an enforced ban. They could offer either smoke-free rooms in all pubs or set aside a number of entirely smoke-free pubs. – Independent on Sunday, 11 July
Center Parcs to build 5th UK site
Center Parcs has confirmed its intention to open a 5th UK site when it reports its company results on Wednesday. No location has been selected and it will take three years to build. The other four UK sites will be expanded. – Mail on Sunday, 11 July
Subway sandwich chain plans 2,000 UK outlets
US sandwich chain Subway plan to double the number of outlets in Britain. By the end of the year there will be 500 and the target is to have 2,010 by the end of the decade. “Subway is already the biggest specialist sandwich shop in Britain and Ireland, with more outlets than Pret A Manger and Benjy’s,” said founder Fred DeLuca at a meeting of new franchisees at the company’s London headquarters. – Sunday Times, 11 July
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