Bid for QMH being kept under wraps

BOTH Hanover International and Queens Moat Houses (QMH) were remaining tight- lipped over buyout speculation last week.

Peter Eyles, executive chairman of Hanover, declined to comment on reports that he is considering a bid in excess of £900m for QMH's 51 hotels.

Eyles may be keen to regain control of hotels that he builtup under the Norfolk Capital name, which was sold to QMH in 1990. A report in the Sunday Times claimed that Eyles had approached several financial backers to launch a bid for QMH, which has 51 hotels and is valued at £100m but has debts of more than £800,000.

QMH, which also refusedto comment, plans to reduce some of its debt with the sale of11 hotels in France and Belgium, worth around £43m.

City analysts were divided over the possibility of a bidfrom Eyles.

One said there was every likelihood of a reverse takeover by Hanover, which has six hotels. Another dismissed it as "a loo-loo summertime story".