The AIM Group has acquired six Principal Hotels for £270 million in a sale and leaseback deal from private equity firm Permira.
The deal, for six four star hotels, is the biggest that the group has made to date and includes the George in Edinburgh, the Royal York in York, Selsdon Park, Surrey, the Met in Leeds, the Palace in Manchester and the Russell in London.
The hotels have between them 1,310 rooms and have had £50m spent on them, aAIM is committing to a further £20 million of improvements and additional facilities.
The transaction is part of a 25 year sale and leaseback with Principal Hotels and was initiated and arranged on by James Elton and Mark Tagliaferi of aAIM.
In a statement they said: “We are excited to be working with Tony Troy who is an excellent CEO and hotelier and Permira as the overall sponsor.
“This will be a good deal for all with further improvements to the real estate. We are also looking forward to funding additional investments for this team.”
Tony Troy, chief executive officer of Principal Hotels said: ”We are delighted to be working with aAIM, particularly in light of their experience in the sector.
“We look forward to working together to enhance the performance of our current portfolio of unique properties, through the £20m planned programme of additional improvements and facilities.”
Senior debt for the transaction was provided by Bank of Scotland Corporate.
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