The parent company of hotel chains Malmaison and Hotel du Vin has offered £325m for the conference arm of Rentokil.
Under newly created holding company Alternative Hotels Group led by Marylebone Warwick Balfour’s own chief executive officer Richard Balfour-Lynn, it has teamed up with the Royal Bank of Scotland to buy Initial Style Conferences.
Doug Flynn, Rentokil chief executive, said that the sale was due to a conflict of interest.
“We decided to sell style conferences because its operating characteristics are substantially different from other businesses in the company, and because we believe that there area other owners for whom the business would be a better fit,” he said.
Rentokil said that the proceeds from the sale would be used to reduce debt within the group.
By Jen Crothers
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