News round-up

£130m Mayfair sale unlikely to go ahead
The sale of the Mayfair InterContinental hotel, previously under an exclusive agreement to a consortium including Cola Holdings, now looks unlikely to be completed, according to industry insiders. The £130m sale was expected to be finalised in mid-June.

Rezidor chief refutes 'split' rumours
Kurt Ritter, chief executive of Rezidor SAS, has denied rumours that the hotel group is soon to split from its owner, Scandinavian airline SAS. "There's no truth in that rumour," said Ritter. "For the time being I'm head of the company and I don't think anything like that's going to happen without me knowing about it."

Another Thistle director quits
Finance director Ian Durant is the latest resignation to be announced from London-based Thistle Hotels, bought by BIL International last month. Former chairman Ian Burke, chief executive David Newbigging and three other executive directors resigned in early May. Quek Leng Chan, chairman of BIL, was appointed chairman of Thistle and Arun Amarsi, BIL's chief executive, became chief executive and managing director.

Initiatives fail to spark Jarvis figures
A refocus on the leisure market and a major sale-and-leaseback deal worth £150m did not offset a mediocre set of results from hotel group Jarvis. Turnover for the group for the year ending 29 March 2003 was down 0.1% to £162.4m, with pre-tax profits after adjustment unchanged at £17m.

Average room rates were down by 2.7% to £51.92, as was revenue per available room (revpar), by 2% to £34.20. Occupancy remained largely static, falling 0.6% to 65.9%. Total borrowings for the group were cut by 46.5% following the sale and leaseback of nine hotels completed at a £53.1m profit on sale.

Cranswick moves into food service
Yorkshire-based food manufacturer Cranswick Country Foods is launching a new division dedicated to food service.

Best known for its meat products, Cranswick has traditionally been associated with the retail sector. The new division will also list Continental deli meats, fresh pastas, cheeses, game and exotic meats.

For more information, call 01482 372799 or visit www.cranswick.co.uk.