Former COO of De Vere Hotels heads up new hotel management company
A new hotel management company has been launched to operate the expanding hotel portfolio of the UK arm of American investment firm, Marathon Asset Management.
Valor Hospitality Europe, an affiliate of US-based Valor Hospitality Partners, will manage 17 hotels on behalf of MCAP Global Finance, including five properties it has just acquired from Blackstone, the private equity company which is the largest shareholder of Hilton Worldwide.
The Blackstone portfolio comprises two DoubleTree by Hilton hotels in Manchester and Leeds and three under the Hilton Garden Inn brand in Bristol, Birmingham and Glasgow. They were originally part of the eight-strong Mint Hotel group which was acquired by Blackstone in 2011 for around £600m.
Valor's UK portfolio comprises hotels operated under a mix of brands from Hilton Worldwide and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), via franchise agreements.
Brian McCarthy, managing director of Valor Hospitality Europe, said the acquisition of the five hotels from Blackstone was a key purchase for MCAP. "It is one which the entire company is very excited about. This also cements our relationship with Hilton and I'm looking forward to doing further work with them," he said.
McCarthy, who is the former chief operating officer for De Vere Hotels & Village Urban Resorts, added that the focus of the new company will be to create high levels of employee engagement and exceptional standards of customer service, combined with great commercial practice.
"Our immediate growth will come from our strong partnership with MCAP but I see that situation evolving as we start to work with other owners looking for a strategically focused new operator," he said. "I see there being plenty of opportunity in a market that is moving quickly."
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