Hotels move to private market

The publicly listed hotels sector looks set to get smaller as more groups consider going private.

Industry experts are predicting a jump to the private market following the announcement last week that Jarvis Hotels chairman John Jarvis and chief executive Richard Thomason were making a £150m offer for the company. Their bid follows recent moves away from the public arena by Thistle Hotels, Hanover International and Macdonald Hotels.

Other hotel groups thought likely to go private are the De Vere Group and Gresham Hotels, both of which have recently been speculative takeover targets, currently suspended Queens Moat Houses, and Millennium & Copthorne, whose chairman Kwek Leng Beng owns more than 50% of the group.