French group in talks to acquire hotel portfolio in £750m deal

A French company is in talks with private equity firm Starwood Capital about acquiring a portfolio of 14 four- and five-star hotels operating under the Principal Hotels Company brand.

Foncière des Régions (FdR) said that of the 14 hotels, giving a total of 2,626 guest-rooms, nine are located in England – Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Oxford, Wotton and York, four in Scotland – Edinburgh, Glasgow, and one in Wales – Cardiff.

Principal operates hotels including The Principal in Manchester, and is responsible for the £50m transformation of Liverpool’s Martins Bank building into a 227-room luxury hotel – the city’s first five star hotel.

Starwood bought Principal Hayley for £360m in 2013.

FdR added that the deal, understood to be valued at around £750m, could be finalised by the end of the first half of 2018.

FdR has property assets under management valued at €6 billion for a total of almost 500 hotels.