Regal bids for County Hotels

THE investment company behind the 25-strong County Hotels group has confirmed that it has received a "serious offer" from Regal Hotels.

The County group, which is currently selling two of its properties to Management Services International, has been considering a flotation since October. It operates mainly three-star hotels of between 50 and 100 rooms from Scotland to Southampton.

But, following the departure of its executive chairman Robert Smart in November, the company has attracted interest from other hotel groups.

"We have received a number of approaches which we are evaluating and Regal is one of them," said Edmund Truell, chief executive of Duke Street Capital, the venture capital backer of County Hotels.

The firm, which sold Lyric Hotels to Friendly Hotels in December, is hoping to raise about £120m from the sale, although Truell said that a flotation of County Hotels in its own right had not been ruled out.

Regal Hotels, which appears to have shelved its plans for a management buyout through venture capital fund Alchemy Partners, declined to comment.