Real Hotel Company to quit London

The Real Hotel Company announced that it is to sell its three London hotels for £18.6m, removing itself completely from the capital.

The transaction is expected to be completed over the next four months and will be used to cut its debt by £14.5m.

The rest of the proceeds will provide the group with a further working capital of £3.5m, after paying expenses incurred.

Chairman Peter Catesby said the transaction enabled the company to “realise the long term value of its businesses more quickly than we anticipated”, whilst continuing to aggressively develop its budget Purple hotel brand.

“We regard our exit from the London market as a temporary situation,” he said. “We have an active development pipeline already in place with over 2,000 rooms under offer and becoming a largely de-leveraged business will enhance our ability to deliver this plan".

The Real Hotel Company is owner, operator and developer of branded hotels in the UK and Europe and operates 58 owned, leased or managed hotels in the UK and Europe.

The company, which launched budget brand Purple Hotels earlier this year, operates Quality, Comfort and Clarion properties under franchise agreements.

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By Gemma Sharkey

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