The news follows this week’s latest acquisition of Hallmark Hotels for around £75mln (approx. €94mln). The four-star hotel chain takes Topland’s portfolio to 30 hotels across the UK, and the deal is the next step in Topland’s strategy to build a £1bln (approx. €1.262bln) hotel business.
A source close to the company confirmed that Topland is seeking to build the portfolio quickly, before announcing its intention to float. The group is now considering the acquisition of two hotel chains in mainland Europe, which will take the overall value of the portfolio to more than £1bln (approx. €1.262bln) and lead to a float of the business on the London Stock Exchange.
“The question is what is the exit strategy for the hotel portfolio,” said the source. “It would be sensible to assume that would be a float and it would take place within the next year. Topland is seeking acquisitions aggressively, and is considering one or two deals in mainland Europe at the moment. It could be just one more big deal that takes the value of the portfolio to over £1bn (approx. €1.262bln), or it could be a combination of two.”
The Hallmark transaction was an all-cash deal, and took less than four weeks to complete. The chain consists of eight four-star hotels, 730 rooms, with 600 employees across the UK including Croydon, Manchester and Gloucester.
