Festival buys Ramada trio

Edinburgh-based hotel, pub and restaurant group Festival Inns has bought three Ramada Jarvis hotels in Scotland for more than £10m.

The deal - which adds to the group's portfolio the 60-bedroom Ramada Murrayfield and the 56-bedroom Ramada Learmouth, both in Edinburgh, and the 98-bedroom Ramada Aberdeen - is the biggest single acquisition by Festival Inns since its formation in 1997.

Managing director Kenneth Waugh said that adding these hotels to the company's 20-strong portfolio was a major development for the group, and was the first step in establishing a chain of four-star hotels in prime city-centre locations across Scotland.

The group is also seeking planning permission for a new £6.5m, four-star, 33-bedroom hotel in Edinburgh's Hope Street.

It also wants to spend £1m on a new bar-restaurant in Edinburgh Quay and more than £7m adding 40 more bedrooms and conference facilities to its Raeburn House hotel in the city.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 26 August 2004