De Vere Group close to offloading six golf hotels
Six of the UK's leading golf hotels will change hands next month following an agreement by Sankaty Advisors to acquire De Vere Hotels.
It is believed that the American investment company is paying around £160m for the portfolio, which includes Cameron House on Lock Lomond, Slaley Hall in Northumberland, Oulton Hall, near Leeds, Belton Woods, near Grantham and Dunston Hall, near Ipswich.
It is not Sankaty Advisors' first foray into the UK hotel market. Earlier this year, together with Canyon Capital Advisors, the company invested in the QHotels portfolio, by acquiring an extensive loan portfolio from the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation.
QHotels operates 21 four-star hotels across the UK, including the Midland in Manchester and Queens in Leeds, as well as a number of golf resorts such as the Forest Pines hotel and golf resort near Brigg, Lincolnshire. The company is headed by managing director Michael Purtill.
Once the sale of De Vere Hotels is completed, attention will be focused on the sale of De Vere Village Urban Resorts, the final portion of the De Vere Group to be offloaded in an effort to offset the company's original £1.1m debt with the Lloyds Banking Group. It is expected the sale, comprising 25 hotels and three development sites in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow, will raise nearly £480m.
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