Rhombus to manage Hotel Verta following sale

Hotel Verta - one of the former Von Essen properties - has been sold and its management taken over by the Hong Kong-based Rhombus International Hotels Group.

The 70-bedroom hotel on London's South Bank in Battersea, which opened in September 2010 after being developed at a cost of about £50m, has been renamed Hotel Verta by Rhombus.

It was one of four hotels - alongside the Forbury in Reading, Llangoed Hall in Powys and Hunstrete House near Bath - which did not form part of the administration of Von Essen following the collapse of the company with debts of nearly £300m, in April.

However, it went into administration in its own right at the end of July, when Ernst & Young was appointed to run the hotel with the help of BDL Hotels.

The hotel was bought off a guide price of £20m by a private investor on Friday when general manager Andrew Thomason left the hotel. The position of general manager has now been made redundant. A hotel manager will report direct to Rhombus' corporate office in Hong Kong.

Tim Alpe, hotel manager of the Hotel Panorama by Rhombus in Hong Kong, is currently at Hotel Verta overseeing the transition to the new managagment company. "The hotel has plenty of potential," he said. "We are currently looking at ways to create greater efficiencies amongst the personnel and diversify the marketing strategy."

Rhombus currently manages four hotels in Hong Kong, with a flagship hotel opening in China in early 2012.

David Creamore, director of Christie and Co, which marketed the hotel, said there had been widespread interest in the hotel from the UK and overseas. "The new owners have acquired a superb and rare opportunity to gain a foothold in London's hotel marketplace."

Von Essen's Verta Hotel opens for business >>

Hotel Verta goes into administration >>

Von Essen falls into administration >>

By Janet Harmer

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