Regal sells hotel as bid deadline looms
Regal Hotels has sold off another of its "non-core" properties as it seeks to improve its financial performance.
The 41-bedroom White Swan in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, has been sold to Leicester-based brewer and pub operator Everards.
No details of the sale price or Everards' plans for the hotel were available.
The disposal follows Regal's £1.5m sale of the 155-bedroom St George's hotel in Liverpool earlier this month.
The group has now sold off eight hotels since July for more than £13m. These include the 47-bedroom Brudenell in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, the 98-bedroom Hertfordpark in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, and the 71-bedroom Dudley in Hove, East Sussex.
Regal is facing a takeover bid from Malaysian United Industries, its biggest shareholder. Other shareholders have until Saturday (29 January) to decide whether to accept MUI's offer of 19.5p per share.
Regal's independent directors today again urged shareholders to reject the offer, describing it as "inadequate".
The financial performance of the Restaurant Partnership, which Regal bought in 1998, was expected to improve significantly during 2000, they claimed. Head office costs were expected to fall by 20%.
