Scottish hotel sites sold in administration deal

TWO Scottish hotels have been sold after their parent company was bought out of administration.

KPMG: Menzies Hotels Group deal sees two Scottish hotels sold. Picture: Getty

Menzies Hotels Group, which operates 12 sites including ones in Aberdeen and Glasgow, has been sold to property and investment group Topland after administrators at KPMG were appointed to the Derby-headquartered firm.

The deal secures the employment of 1,130 staff but three hotels, in Gatwick, Luton and Swindon, will close, with a total of 155 employees being made redundant.

Rob Croxen, partner at KPMG and joint administrator, commented: “Following our appointment as administrators to the non-trading parent companies of Menzies Hotels Group, we have worked closely with stakeholders to secure the best possible outcome for creditors.

“After reviewing a number of options, it became clear that a pre-pack sale of the business and the freehold properties would provide the greatest return to creditors, while also preserving the majority of jobs across the business.”

Croxen said the terms of the three leasehold properties which will close had proved to be unattractive to potential buyers.

“We will be assisting those affected employees in claiming redundancy payments from the Redundancy Payments Office,” he added.

Gibraltar-registered Topland is one of the UK’s largest privately owned international investment groups, with assets including offices, pubs and hotels.

It bought the five-star Hilton Glasgow hotel from Royal Bank of Scotland in 2011 in a £35.7 million deal. The hotel was the last of an 11-strong portfolio of Hilton hotels acquired by the bank in 2001 in a £312m sale-and-leaseback deal.