LONDON -- Bass PLC, parent company of Bass Hotels & Resorts,
acquired the Posthouse chain from Compass Group PLC for $1.16
billion in cash, with the intent to convert the hotels to the
Holiday Inn brand.
Posthouse, one of the units of Compass' Forte Hotel Group, has a
portfolio of 79 mid-price hotels with more than 12,000 rooms, all
but one of them in the U.K. (The other is in Ireland.)
Besides Holiday Inn, Bass also owns the Inter-Continental and
Crowne Plaza brands, among others.
The deal fulfills Bass' goal of increasing its mid-scale product
in Western Europe. Though Holiday Inn is a major presence in the
U.S., its European portfolio is relatively small.
Additionally, Bass plans to invest about $107 million to upgrade
the hotels over the next three years, and the company expects to
release approximately 15 properties deemed not suitable for the
Holiday Inn brand or near existing Holiday Inn locations.
In addition, Compass sold off its Heritage properties to
Macdonald Hotels, a Scottish firm, for $336 million. The Heritage
chain numbers 37 properties.
At press time, the biggest piece of the Compass group,the
146-hotel Le Meridien chain, is still up for sale, with Marriott
and Japanese investment firm Nomura rumored to be in the
running.
Compass is selling the hotels to focus on its food service
business.