in brief

Britannia accrues

Britannia Hotels has exchanged contracts to buy the 98-bedroom Royal Court Hotel on the outskirts of Coventry from the receivers.

The Manchester-based company is believed to have paid just under agent Christie & Co's £2.5m asking price for the property, which is this year expected to break even on a turnover of about £1.1m.

The 11-acre site has planning consent for another 80 rooms and conference and leisure facilities, and Britannia is believed to be planning a redevelopment that could cost at least £2m.

internet spread

O'Briens Irish Sandwich Bars, which opened its first UK outlet in Crawley, West Sussex, three months ago, is to recruit franchisees through its own homepage on the Internet.

The company, which specialises in made-to-order sandwiches, has nine outlets, eight of them in Dublin. This year it plans to open six further stores in the UK and three in Ireland.

The Internet homepage will also contain menu information for customers.

ouvrez la porte

La Porte des Indes, the Blue Elephant group's planned Franco-Indian restaurant in London's Bryanston Street, is scheduled to open on 20 February.

Total investment in the site, which will seat about 350 on two floors, is put at £1.5m.

stakis spree

Stakis chief executive David Michels expects to buy at least two more hotels in the next couple of months.