Bank to sell off hotels
The Royal Bank of Scotland is poised to sell a number of the hotel properties it took over during the recession.
The bank owns and trades six hotels under the banner West Register, all of which are for sale. But up to 60 other properties are under what the bank terms the "tender loving care" of its lending services wing and may also be sold.
Tipped as favourite to snap up the West Register properties is Mazard Hotel Management, which currently manages two of the hotels - the 29-bedroom Liongate at Hampton Court, London, and the 15-bedroom Flitwick Manor, at Flitwick, Bedfordshire.
Guy Macpherson, managing director at Mazard, refused to comment. But last summer he told Caterer the company wanted to buy between six and eight properties.
Mazard is keen to move into ownership to offset the loss of management work of distressed hotels undertaken for banks. In June last year, it lost its management contracts on seven properties which were part of the package of 30 hotels sold by the Bank of Scotland to Paragon Hotels and now managed by Macdonald Hotels.
- Macdonald Hotels last week issued its pathfinder prospectus for the group's stock market flotation in March. It hopes to raise £23.8m.
The group, which has 16 owned hotels and 63 management contracts on hotels and resorts, reported pre-tax profits of £2.72m from sales of £18.6m for the 27 weeks ended 1 October 1995.
