Investment firm to sell nine Swallow hotels

Nine Swallow hotels across Scotland and England have been put on the market.

Owner F&C Reit Asset Management has instructed property agent Christie & Co to sell the hotels.

They are available individually or as a group, and consist of eight freehold properties and one long leasehold.

The properties, managed by Crerar, are the Belstead Brook hotel in Ipswich; the Hilltop Hotel Carlisle; the Churchgate hotel, Old Harlow; Swallow Hotel Gateshead; Swallow Hotel Glasgow; Imperial Hotel in Newcastle; Trafalgar Hotel in Preston; and the Three Tuns Hotel in Durham.

The hotels are being sold free of the existing Crerar management and branding.

Director at Christie & Co Jeremy Jones said it was "unusual" to have such a "diverse range of assets brought to the market".

He said: "These traditional hotels will have broad appeal for owner operators and investors looking to improve them through capital investment and re-branding. We anticipate multiple, competitive offers on these properties."

Swallow hotels, which was previously part of the London and Edinburgh Swallow Group, went into administration in 2006 with debts estimated at £40m.

The biggest tranche of properties was sold to the Flodrive Group, which took control of 45 hotels where it already owned the freehold.

Other trade buyers included Crerar Hotels (26), Brook Hotels (six), Legacy Hotels (three), Folio Hotels (three) and Q Hotels (one).

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By Gemma Sharkey

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