S&N puts 23 hotels on the market
Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) is hoping to raise more than £30m through selling off all its non-budget hotels.
Properties that have been put on the market include the 64-bedroom George Hotel in Reading, with a price tag of £2.5m, and the 46-bedroom Royal Exeter in Bournemouth, at £2.6m.
Other major hotels on the list include the 22-bedroom Radbrook Hall hotel in Shrewsbury (£2.25m) and the 44-bedroom Roker Hotel in Sunderland (£2m).
The 23 properties could be sold individually or in groups. Agent Christie & Co is handling the sale.
S&N's move is part of its strategy to concentrate on "quality traditional pubs", pub restaurants (including Chef and Brewer), bars and late-night venues, and Premier Lodge budget hotels.
S&N bought Premier Lodge from Greenalls at the end of last year and is opening roughly one a week. It will have 200 by the beginning of 2001. Overall, S&N has 2,700 retail outlets.
Its other major focus is on developing its beer division, following the purchase of French brewer Kronenbourg earlier this year. The company is in also the process of selling its Center Parcs and Pontin's holiday camp businesses.
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