Activities
Jarvis is one of the UK’s largest hotel companies, with 59 properties in mainland Britain, of which almost all are franchised under the Ramada flag. It operates in the full-service, three- and four-star sectors and its properties are a mix of owned and leased hotels.
The hotels carry the Ramada, Ramada Plaza, and Ramada Resort names, with one operating under the Travelodge brand.
Timeline
- 1990: Jarvis Hotels is founded by John Jarvis and David Thomas, who buy 41 Embassy hotels for £160m from Allied Lyons in the industry’s largest management buy-in to date.
- 1994: The group acquires 20 properties from Resort Hotels for £43.9m.
- 1996: Jarvis floats on the London stock market at a market capitalisation of £300m.
- 1999: Jarvis takes on the leases to operate nine hotels in England and Scotland, acquired by Norwich Union.
- 2001: Jarvis signs a deal with Marriott International to rebrand its estate under three Ramada brands. The group also takes on the first (and, to date, only) Travelodge franchise on a 93-bedroom budget hotel at Glasgow Airport.
- 2002: Jarvis signs a £150m sale-and-leaseback deal on nine of its hotels. This follows a £15m sale-and-leaseback deal on five hotels in 2001.
- October 2003: Founder John Jarvis, with co-director Richard Thomason, makes an offer of 145p per share, about £147.8m, to take the company into private ownership following an approach by a potential buyer.
- February 2004: The directors’ takeover bid, made through investment vehicle Kayterm and backed by venture capital firm Lioncourt, goes through. Over the course of the year, the group sells five properties and puts 11 on the market, to reduce duplication and to jettison the last hotel bearing the Jarvis name.
Operating data
Number of hotels: 59, although 10 are currently up for sale
Number of employees: 4,980
Figures for the 26 weeks to 11 October 2003 show a pre-tax profit of £4m. This includes, for the first time, the £5.7m rent payable for the sale-and-leaseback of nine hotels. On a like-for-like basis, pre-tax profit fell by 38.5% to £5.1m.
Strategy
"The board is continuing its strategy to evolve the company towards a hospitality management services group, establishing links with major hotel brands and reducing the emphasis on ownership of hotel properties."
Source: preliminary results, 2003
Chief executive
Steve Hebborn
Key directors
Finance director: Steve Hebborn
Chairman: John Jarvis
Castle House
Desborough Road
High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire
HP11 2PR
Tel: 01494 473 800
Website: http://www.ramadajarvis.co.uk
Jarvis went private in February 2004 to exercise more control over the way it ran its company. Since then, it has been going through a process of consolidation, and in 2004 sold or was in the process of selling 15 properties. The disposals will reduce the level of duplication Jarvis has in certain areas, and will see the end of Jarvis as a brand name.
The group’s plan to transform itself into a hotel management company, rather than an owner of bricks and mortar, has progressed rapidly, and Jarvis says it is now close to achieving its target 50/50 split between owned and leased hotels. In November 2004, it owned 37 properties.
Pure management deals will also be considered, although the group currently has just one management contract, for the Hotel Metro in Tamworth, Leicestershire.
US hotel chain Cendant’s acquisition in late 2004 of Ramada International Hotels and Resorts from Marriott International gaveJarvis an international boost, as it will bring all the worldwide Ramada hotels under a common brand standard and a single booking system. The deal made Jarvis part of a 1,000-strong hotel brand in 26 countries on six continents.
Outside mainland Britain, Ireland is a possible avenue for future expansion.
