Sealed-bid auction sees its first sale
by Nigel Bartlett
The first sale in the Kennedy-Wilson sealed-bid hotel auction was announced last week, marking the entry into Britain of Northern Ireland's Sean Quinn Group.
The group was named as the buyer of the Holiday Inn in Cambridge, one of 14 properties across Europe to be put up for sale in the auction, which was thought to be unique in this country (Caterer, 2 June).
No sale price was made available, although a reserve price had been set at £12.2m for the 199-bedroom property.
The Holiday Inn had been in receivership with Touche Ross virtually since it opened in 1989, but has been managed throughout its existence by Holiday Inn Worldwide.
David Mackey, general manager of the Sean Quinn Group, told Caterer the management contract would continue. He said it was too early to be precise about what changes the company would make to the property, as completion was not due until this week. However, he said a certain amount of refurbishment would take place.
Mr Mackey added it was likely the company would buy further properties in Britain.
The Sean Quinn Group, based in Derrylin, County Fermanagh, is primarily a cement manufacturer, but owns four hotels in Ireland. Its flagship property is the 155-bedroom Slieve Russell hotel, golf and country club in Ballyconnell, County Cavin, which it opened in 1990. The three other properties have between 36 and 44 bedrooms.
The sale of the Holiday Inn followed that in September of the 191-bedroom Birmingham International (formerly the Park International), which had been included in the auction but was sold independently.
That property's former owner, Swedish Group Securum, sold it to Britannia Hotels, which is now in the process of refurbishing the hotel.
The sealed-bid auction was organised by the London office of US property agent Kennedy-Wilson International and was held with the intention of attracting worldwide buyers for the 14 properties across Europe.
Four other UK properties were included in the sale: the Carlton in Bournemouth (reserve price £3.9m), the Miramar, also in Bournemouth (£1.7m), the Ramada in Reading (£7.1m) and the Marine in Salcombe, Devon (£3.5m).
The deadline for the auction was 28 July, but Kennedy-Wilson has found sales have taken longer than anticipated because of the different languages, currencies and legal systems involved.
However, a spokesman said the company expected to sell 13 of the properties, with further announcements due shortly.
