Mint Hotel group sold in massive private equity deal
MINT Hotels, the eight-strong chain with bases in Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and London among others, has been sold to US private equity company Blackstone.
The sum was not disclosed, but reports have suggested Mint was expecting to achieve a price tag of around £600m for the business. Blackstone is no stranger to the hotel sector; it already owns the Hilton Group.
The deal is one of the biggest in the hotels market in Europe since 2007.
Mint was founded by Sandy and David Orr and Donald MacDonald with Bill Crerar as City Inn in 1995, with the first hotel opening in Bristol in 1999. The Birmingham hotel is in Brindleyplace.
The hotels were all new-build properties developed by the company and most were jointly financed in a deal with Uberior Ventures, which was part of the Bank of Scotland (now Lloyds Banking Group). Some £450m worth of loans from Lloyds Banking Group were due to expire next year.
David JM Orr, co‐founder and chief executive of Mint Hotel, said: “After nearly 16 years spent building Mint into the brand that it now is, a transaction has been agreed that gives the business a new future. We have a fantastic team of over 1,500 employees who have worked tirelessly to deliver the outstanding level of service that our customers’ deserve.
“In Blackstone, the business now has a global investor with a strong and expansive track record in the hospitality sector. We feel confident that they will continue to manage the hotels in a manner that is true to its business identity.
“We wish the new managers every success with the business and are hugely proud to have built it up to the position it now is in.”
Sandy Orr, executive chairman, said: “Despite the headwinds in the economy and turmoil in the financial markets we have created from scratch a substantial business that has created many jobs and returned exceptional results to our former financial partners.
“We have cherished this business since its inception and we wish everyone well going forward.”
Nigel Moss, managing director of Uberior Ventures, said: “For us, this large-scale transaction marks a great outcome for stakeholders reflecting a highly successful and market changing rollout strategy.
“We have worked closely with a well‐regarded and entrepreneurial team over a number of years to build and deliver a very successful and growing pan‐European hotel business which in turn provides an excellent opportunity for the Company’s new investor. Everyone at Lloyds Banking Group wishes the founders of Mint, the employees and Blackstone well as the business moves on.”
Law firms advising on the deal included Wragge & Co, Freshfields, Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, Burness, Hogan Lovells, Michelmores , Lindsays, Ogier, Mcgrigors, Dundas & Wilson and, for Blackstone, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
