Ireland's Dalata Hotel Group to buy seven Moran Bewley properties
Ireland's largest hotel operator, the Dalata Hotel Group, is set to acquire seven properties from the nine-strong Moran Bewley's Hotel Group for €455m (£358m).
The acquisition will provide Dalata with a platform to further expand its presence in the UK, where it currently has two hotels in Northern Ireland - the Tower in Derry and Maldron in Belfast - as well as the Best Western Plus Maldron in Cardiff.
The four hotels in the UK which will be joining Dalata are the Chiswick Moran and Crown Moran, Cricklewood, both in London, and two Bewley's hotels in Leeds and at Manchester Airport.It is expected, if the deal goes ahead, that Dalata will launch a new brand to operate alongside its existing Maldron badge.
The acquisition will be funded by the issuing of 18.3 million new shares, at â¬2.75 (£2.16) each.
Dalata was founded in 2007 by Pat McCann, previously chief executive of Jurys Doyle Hotel Group, and currently operates 38 hotels with almost 6,000 bedrooms.