Objectives

The group is committed to fulfilling its obligations to IHG as a major franchisee. Previously, it has developed its hotels at a steady rate of growth aimed at producing sustainable profits, stability and ensuring that lessons are learned from previous experiences. This has resulted in the development of a highly respected group which is now capable of expanding more rapidly.

The expansion will involve new build hotels, possibly including suites and serviced apartments, and the acquisition of existing branded hotels. The aim is to deliver 15 hotels by 2008 with a value of approximately £150m. The second phase of which will be the investment currently sought.

As the mid-market hotels continue to suffer at the hands of the premium budget market, values of the former hotels have fallen. This therefore offers an opportunity to acquire service hotels at a lower cost than the budget sector, whilst allowing greater future growth opportunities. Non-core specialist areas such as leisure and full-service restaurants would be considered for outsourcing (based on percentage of turnover contracts) leaving management skills to be concentrated on bedroom and conference facilities.