Travelodge managers to share £26m after sale ... For more hospitality stories, see what the weekend papers say

Travelodge managers to share £26m after sale
The top 37 managers at Travelodge will share £26m after the sale of the budget hotel chain to Dubai International Capital (DIC), the owner of Tussauds Group, for £675m. DIC, which is buying the hotel group from Permira, is backing the current management team, led by chief executive Grant Hearn and chairman Keith Hamill. It will focus on growing the 291-unit chain’s UK presence while expanding in India, Spain and Eastern Europe. – The Times, 19 August.

New owner wants Travelodge to be London’s top budget brand
Dubai International Capital, the new owner of Travelodge, said it now hoped to transform the group into the biggest budget hotel operator in London - a position currently occupied by Comfort Inn - in time for the Olympic Games in 2012. – The Scotsman, 19 August.

Chinese restaurant chain to float on London stock market
A company that operates a chain of luxury restaurants in China is preparing to float on the Alternative Investment Market. Prince Catering and Management, which runs 14 restaurants as well as an upmarket hotel and spa, has hired stockbroker WH Ireland to advise. It plans to raise £625,000. – Sunday Times, 20 August.

Burger King silent over request to cut down salt
Burger King has failed to respond to several approaches from the Irish Food Safety Authority to commit to a nationwide salt-reduction scheme. High levels of salt consumption have been linked to a range of health problems, including high blood pressure and heart disease in Ireland. – Irish Independent, 20 August.

10 offers for Mitchells & Butlers pubs sale
About 10 initial offers have been received by Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) for an estate of 100 pubs it put up for sale last month. M&B, headed by chief executive Tim Clarke, is believed to be sitting on bids from big pub groups that include Punch Taverns, Enterprise Inns and Greene King, as well as from property investors and private-equity groups such as GI Partners. – Sunday Times, 20 August.

Another senior executive quits Jurys Doyle
A second senior executive has quit the Jurys Doyle hotel group, which was taken private by the Doyle and Beatty families in October 2005. Paul McQuillan, the company’s finance chief, will leave the company at the end of this month to pursue other business interests. In March, former chief executive Pat McCann left Jurys and was replaced by Niall Geoghegan, the company’s marketing director. – Sunday Times (Irish edition only), 20 August.

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