Former Golden Tulip boss to look for new hotels for Whitbread

Former Golden Tulip UK chief executive Peter Roberts has launched Countrywide Hotel Acquisitions.

The new company’s first assignment will be to source sites for Whitbread: the company that spent £44m on acquiring Robert’s old business last month.

Countrywide, which is based in North Yorkshire, will look to acquire freehold sites and existing hotels as well as securing lease agreements on properties with 40 to 400 rooms for Whitbread’s Premier Inn brand.

Roberts said: “Our primary remit is sourcing sites for Premier Inn which clearly covers the mid-market and budget sectors.

“But Countrywide can also acquire suitable sites for four-star and five-star hotels or existing businesses on behalf of other operators with whom we work in these markets.”

Roberts, who was chief executive at Golden Tulip UK from its launch in 2002 to its sale last month, will be joined by Angela Crawshaw and Becky Anderson who were part of its UK property and acquisition team.

The Golden Tulip/Whitbread deal was first revealed on Kitchen Rat early last month.

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By Christopher Walton

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