US private equity firm KSL Capital Partners has sold the Malmaison and Hotel du Vin UK hospitality chains to Singaporean serviced apartments group Frasers Hospitality for £363m (US$570m, €511m).
The sale marks a tidy profit for KSL, which
bought the hotels in 2013 for a reported £200m (US$314m, €282m) and then spent money renovating existing properties and expanding into new locations.
Each founded in 1994, Malmaison and Hotel du Vin are a collection of boutique hotels located throughout the UK. Malmaison consists of 13 boutique hotels typically sited in historic buildings, Hotel du Vin locations are concentrated in cathedral and university towns.
The two hotel brands will join Frasers Hospitality’s three serviced residence offerings – the Gold-Standard Fraser Suites, Fraser Place and Fraser Residence – as well as Modena by Fraser and Capri by Fraser – a design-led hotel residence aimed at the millennial business traveller.
“This acquisition is important as it doubles our offerings in Europe to about 4,000 keys and it propels Frasers Hospitality to be one of the leading hospitality players in this market,” said Frasers Group CEO Mr Lim Ee Seng.
“(Our) strategy remains focused on achieving balanced growth across asset classes and diversifying our earnings profile.
KSL focuses on travel and leisure businesses and the private equity firm remains active in the hotel market, having recently
acquired the UK-based Village Urban Resorts from De Vere Group for around £480m (US$755m, €676m).
“We are grateful to have been a part of Malmaison and Hotel du Vin,” said Coley Brenan, a principal of KSL.
“Each property is physically unique, but each share the common traits of exceptional service and wonderful food and beverage offerings. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the employees of Malmaison and Hotel du Vin, we have no doubt they will continue to be two of the preeminent hotel brands in the UK.”
To read an interview with KSL partner Rich Weissmann, from the Q1 2015 edition of
CLADmag, click
here.
