Queens Moat Houses to Sell UK, German, and Dutch Businesses for £410m
The indebted hotels group Queens Moat Houses plans to sell its UK, German, and Dutch businesses to Pedersen Group, Soros Private Equity, and Bridgepoint, respectively, in a deal worth £410m. The sale comes after speculation that a bid might be made for the group, with Goldman Sachs taking a large minority stake in the company. Queens Moat has been struggling with its debts since it nearly collapsed in 1993 and has admitted that the sale of its divisions would not be sufficient to cover its debt.
Key Takeaways:
- Queens Moat Houses plans to sell its UK business to Pedersen Group for £360m, its German business to Soros Private Equity for £150m, and its Dutch business to Bridgepoint for £100m.
- The total price for the three divisions would be £410m, £220m less than the group's net debt of £630m.
- The group has slightly less than 50 hotels in Germany and the Netherlands and another 32 in the UK.
- Queens Moat has been struggling with its debts since it nearly collapsed in 1993 and has admitted that the sale of its divisions would not be sufficient to cover its debt.
- Goldman Sachs took a large minority stake in the company, purchasing 19% in concert with Westmont Hospitality Group, which already held 10%.
- The sale is part of the group's disposal programme, which aims to reduce its debt burden.
- Queens Moat was forced to suspend trading in its shares in September at 8 1/2p, giving the company a market capitalisation of £33.3m.
Statistics:
- £410m: the total price for the sale of the three divisions
- £360m: the price for the UK business sale
- £150m: the price for the German business sale
- £100m: the price for the Dutch business sale
- £630m: the group's net debt
- 19%: the stake purchased by Goldman Sachs
- 10%: the stake held by Westmont Hospitality Group before the deal
- 50: the number of hotels in Germany and the Netherlands
- 32: the number of hotels in the UK
Sources:
- [The Times]
- [Goldman Sachs]
- [Westmont Hospitality Group]