US-based Lone Star to create US $3.1bn hotel group

Dallas-based private equity group Lone Star has revealed plans to form Amaris Hospitality, a £2 billion (US $3.1 billion) company through the acquisition of  hotels in the UK.

Amaris Hospitality currently comprises 89 individual hotel properties, from four separate portfolios acquired by Lone Star over the last two years, trading under brands such as Jurys Inn, Mercure, MGallery, DoubleTree by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn. The Group currently has 29 Jurys Inn hotels, 21 Mercure hotels, 17 Hotel Collection hotels, 3 Hilton hotels and, as of July 30, 19 provincial hotels currently operating under the Thistle hotel brand.

Lone Star also hopes to float the company on the stock market, and Rothschild has been appointed to advise on the structure of Amaris Hospitality, the strategic review of its portfolio and the roll out of its business plan over the coming years.

John Brennan, who currently heads up Jurys Inn and will become chief executive at Amaris said: “The strategy is to create a branded hotels business. Many of these hotels have great locations but have not had much put into them. We have £100mn ($156mn) to invest and renovate these hotels.”

“This year is about strategy. In 2016 we will do the renovation and investment; 2017 is when we should see the fruits of our labours,” he added.

Travelodge’s former chief executive Grant Hearn will serve as non-executive chairman at Amaris.

Hearn commented: “We are delighted to announce the creation of Amaris Hospitality. The new Group will allow us to leverage the considerable scale and size of this unique portfolio of hotels and brands to accelerate its future growth and development and, we believe, create the UK’s best performing, most exciting hospitality investment group. Through the successful implementation of our strategy in the coming years we expect the business to have a value of over £2 billion ($3.2bn).”

Lone Star will invest £100 million in the refurbishment and rebranding of the group's portfolio. This will include repositioning and rebranding a number of hotels to Jurys Inn or other brands.

Hotel Collection properties may also remain outside the group and be run as individual hotels.

The formation of Amaris is the latest move in a growing mergers and acquisitions trend in the hospitality segment.

Earlier this year, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide said it would “explore the full range of strategic and financial alternatives available” including a possible sale of the group during its Q1 Earnings call.

Travelodge is also seeking buyers, and KSL Capital sold its Malmaison and Hotel du Vin brands.