Q Hotels to sell four properties as it plans financial restructure

Q Hotels intends to sell four hotels for around £55m-£60m, ahead of plans to refinance the business.

Bids are currently being invited by Christie & Co for the properties, which are all have four AA stars. They are: the 54-bedroom Aldwark Manor Golf & Spa hotel, near York; the 100-bedroom Bridgewood Manor hotel in Chatham, Kent; the 102-bedroom Stratford hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon; and the 146-bedroom Park Royal hotel, near Warrington, Cheshire.

Michael Purtill, managing director of QHotels, said the hotels were not core to the company, which currently owns and operates 21 properties, with a strong conference business.

"The Aldwark is too small for the group, Bridgewood came as part of the package when we bought Marston Hotels in 2006 but doesn't fit with the rest of the company, Stratford competes with other hotels we have nearby and Park Royal is not a strong conference hotel," he explained."

"We are tidying up the estate with a view to refinancing the company, hopefully later this year."

A financial restructure of QHotels will enable the company to act on the planning permission it has to add 627 bedrooms to 13 of its hotels.

A deadline for bids for the four hotels, on either a group or individual asset basis, has been set at midday on 11 May.

Jeremy Jones, director of corporate hotels at Christie & Co, said: "We've received a great deal of interest already for these high-quality hotels and look forward to receiving bids on all four by the appointed deadline."

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By Janet Harmer

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