Malmaison and Hotel du Vin set for sale

Malmaison and Hotel du Vin owner KSL Capital Partners has begun the process of selling its 29 hotels, according to reports.

Sky News has reported that the private equity firm and advisers at UBS have begun circulating financial information about the hotel business to prospective buyers.

It said that offers were expected in the first week of February.

KSL Capital Partners acquired Malmaison and Hotel du Vin in March 2013 for around £200m, after former parent company, MWB Group, went into administration.

It's chief executive, Gary Davies, was appointed in January 2012 from De Vere Village. Last year the group appointed Nick Halliday as chief operating officer of Hotel du Vin, before announcing the acquisition Cannizaro House in Wimbledon.

Hotel du Vin was founded in 1994 with the launch of its first property in Winchester by Robin Hutson and Gerard Basset. Its focus on simple menus with high quality wines, stylish designs and monsoon showers, all wrapped up within a laid-back environment, immediately captured the imagination of the public.

Hutson and Basset sold Hotel du Vin to MWB in 2004, when it became sister brand to Malmaison. Following the administration of MWB Group in 2013, US-based private equity firm KSL Capital Partners snapped up the pair.

The current ownership had said it was backing further expansion of both brands, with Hotel du Vin looking for additional sites in central London, Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford.