Le Méridien deal caps the sale of Forte hotels

Compass has finally washed its hands of its Forte hotels business, selling off the Le Méridien hotel chain as expected last week to Japanese investment bank Nomura for £1.9b.

The sale brings to an end Compass's sale of Forte, a process that has already seen it dispose of Posthouse, Heritage and London Signature hotels as it focuses on its contract catering businesses.

Nomura had been widely tipped to snap up Le Méridien, but the £1.9b price tag is higher than the £1.85b the bank's Guy Hands was rumoured to have tabled last month.

The Forte sale has brought in £3.26b for Compass, with the Le Méridien disposal expected to be completed in the next six weeks. But the total falls short of the £3.5b the group had hoped to raise from the auction of hotels.

Compass chairman Francis Mackay said: "We are delighted to have successfully concluded the sale of the Forte hotel division and look forward to being able to invest in the further growth and development of Compass Group."

The Le Méridien sale involves 128 four- and five-star hotels in more than 55 countries. Of these, 38 are owned or leased, 77 are under management contract and 13 are franchises.

by Nic Paton