Mazard gears up for acquisitions

Mazard, the UK hotel management subsidiary of Blandy Brothers of Madeira, has unveiled a new ownership structure as it gears up to expand into hotel acquisitions.

Blandy has sold a third of its shares to managing director Guy Macpherson and his management team, and another third to Abraham Bejerano, owner of Sopwell House, St Albans, Hertfordshire, and the new Five Lakes resort in Essex - both operated by Mazard.

Mr Bejerano, who worked with Mr Macpherson at London's Cumberland Hotel 15 years ago, will help the group develop through new management contracts, and, ultimately, hotel ownership.

Mr Macpherson said Blandy Brothers had decided to sell two-thirds of its stake in Mazard to concentrate on its hotel assets in Madeira, notably Reid's and the recently opened Cliff Bay Resort.

It previously owned two hotels in the UK, but Charingworth Manor in Gloucestershire was recently sold to English Rose Hotels, and Bishopstrow House at Warminster, Wiltshire, is on the market for a reported £2.25m.

Mr Macpherson said his management team's purchase of a share of their business - he himself bought 26% - and the partnership with Mr Bejerano would give Mazard a stable base from which to expand.

With the addition of two new contracts due to come on stream next month, Mazard will have a portfolio of 17 properties with a combined turnover this year of £23m. The company's own turnover is about £1m.

Although it has recently started attracting management contracts from owners as opposed to banks and receivers (Caterer, 19 January), Mr Macpherson said that the longer-term plan was to raise money for acquisitions.

"In some cases the banks that we're managing hotels for would be happy to back us," he said. They include the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Bank of Scotland and Lloyds.