WA Shearings completes £78m sale-and-leaseback deal on hotels

Holiday operator WA Shearings has completed a £78m sale and leaseback deal on 39 of its UK hotels.

Shearings, which has 43 hotels and specialises in catering for the over 50’s, has also secured a £25m refinancing package with Lloyds TSB. It will be used to support the group’s growth and protect against seasonal fluctuations in sales.

WA Shearings, which has annual sales of £200m, was created from a merger of the Coach Holiday Group and Shearings in March 2005.

Chief executive John Slatcher said: “We are keen to grow the business and this financing deal means that we will be able to invest in the brand and ensure we remain at the forefront of this growing and increasingly affluent sector.”

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By Chris Druce

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