Sir David Michels launches £200m hotel fund

Veteran hotelier Sir David Michels has announced the launch of a new £200m fund targeting investments in the European hotel sector.

The fund will be managed by his management and advisory firm Michels & Taylor, and will primarily focus on the UK, although acquisitions in the rest of Europe will also be considered.

The aim of the fund will be to find individual assets which can deliver significant trading improvements in the short to medium term.

The fund is on the hunt for hotels ideally with a minimum of 100 bedrooms, worth between £10m and £20m each.

It will also consider small clusters of two or three hotels but portfolio transactions are not part of the investment strategy.

Sir David, who is the former boss of Hilton, said: "I am extremely pleased to have secured the necessary funds for this new venture. The period of buying distressed assets in the UK hotel sector has gone for the time being and we are now in a period of driving value through better management. With Michels & Taylor now established as one of Europe's leading hotel management and consulting businesses, we have the team to deliver these improvements and generate value for our investors."

Hugh Taylor, CEO of Michels & Taylor added: "This is wonderful news for our company, and the team are very excited to be supporting the new fund in this way. It will allow M&T to substantially grow its management contract business whilst maintaining the high level of focus and support we give, and will continue to give to our existing clients."

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