AIM listed hotel chain re-finances with multi-million-pound funding deal
AIM-listed Peel Hotels has re-financed its regional group, which includes two West Yorkshire hotels, with almost £10m of funding.
Formed in 1998 by hotelier Robert Peel and his brother Charles, Peel Hotels has grown to a portfolio of hotels around the UK, an annual turnover approaching £17m and around 500 employees. The group has the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Leeds and Midland Hotel in Bradford within its portfolio.
Funding has been provided by Allied Irish Bank (AIB), which includes a £9.9m five-year term loan facility to support the group’s ongoing programme of refurbishments and improvements; as well as branch banking services for the hotels.
Trish McNicholas, senior relationship manager and a hotel sector specialist at Allied Irish Bank, said: “Robert is a very well-respected and well-known hotelier with a proven track record built up over five decades in the business. Earlier in his career he developed Thistle Hotels into the second largest hotel company in the UK and the largest in London.
“In Peel Hotels, Robert and his strong management teams across the country have succeeded in building a group that provides both business and individual guests with very high standards in both hotel facilities and hospitality.
“AIB (GB) research undertaken earlier this year showed that, despite economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit, the hospitality sector is buoyant, with the UK on course to attract 38 million visitors in 2017 and regional hotels set to hit record occupancy levels. Peel Hotels is therefore well-placed to capitalise on those trends.”
Robert Peel said: “AIB (GB) also has a great deal of hospitality sector expertise, so they understand the nuances of my business, which is a real benefit. Trish and her colleagues have been incredibly helpful already and I’m looking forward to working with them in the years ahead.”
