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 Harrogate headquartered 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 and one in Wales.

Principal has been chosen to operate The Grand on Colmore Row in Birmingham. Its other hotels include The Met in Leeds, The Royal York Hotel, The Principal in Manchester, and it 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.