Dalata buys £91m lease for Aldgate hotel

The Dalata Hotel Group has acquired a long leasehold for a hotel under development in London's Aldgate for £91m.

The 212-bedroom hotel located next to Aldgate East Underground Station is expected to open at the end of 2018. Branded the Clayton Hotel Aldgate London it will be the third London hotel in the group, joining Clayton hotels in Chiswick and Cricklewood.

The 300-year leasehold for the development was taken on by Dalata after it bought the entire issued share capital of Hintergard from Aldgate Hotel Holdco LLC.

Dermot Crowley, deputy chief executive at Dalata Hotel Group, said: "This new hotel gives us a presence in a key central location within the city and is ideally located for corporate customers who want to be close to the City of London and leisure guests visiting the many attractions that the city has to offer. Access to the Aldgate area will be further enhanced with the opening of two new Crossrail stations at Liverpool Street and Whitechapel in December 2018.

"Although revpars have fallen slightly in London over the last 12 months, London remains a key gateway city in Europe that will continue to benefit from the growth in international travel. Our gearing levels will increase in the short term as a result of this transaction but will still remain below our guided upper level of 3.5 times net debt to EBITDA. The hotel is projected to be earnings per share enhancing from its first year of operation."

He added that Dalata now has a pipeline of almost 2,000 rooms in cities such as Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, London, and Manchester.

Dalata reports strong 2017 results with €77.3m profit before tax >>

Dalata announces new hotel plans for Bristol and Birmingham >>

Get The Caterer every week on your smartphone, tablet, or even in good old-fashioned hard copy (or all three!).