De Vere Venues wins Millbank deal as chief exec sets out sale plans

17 April 2013 by
De Vere Venues wins Millbank deal as chief exec sets out sale plans

De Vere Venues has won a new management contract the day after the sale of the conference and meetings business was announced.

Altitude London, centred on the 29th floor of the Millbank Tower, near the Houses of Parliament, will become the group's 39th venue, which it will operate on a 10-year contract.

Yesterday, parent company the De Vere Group said that it had instructed investment bank Lazard to handle the sale process of De Vere Venues, which has recently been valued at £280m. The business is now made up of 30 freehold and long leasehold sites, alongside nine managed properties.

Tony Dangerfield, chief executive of De Vere Venues, said that now was an excellent time for the business to seek a new investor. "We have experienced three very good years of performance, with 5% like-for-like growth in what has been a flat market," he explained.

"The past year has also seen us grow through a number of franchise agreements and management contracts. We are very unique in not being a hotel operation and so are able to provide a very strong business to business offer, which sees us accommodating more than 700,000 delegates each year."

Dangerfield said he is delighted to have secured the Altitude London contract, which will be De Vere Venues' fifth site in the capital.

"It is a very unique venue and provides us with a broader offer for London, which underpins our continued growth strategy," he added.

De Vere Venues has also recently won the contract to manage Studley Castle in Redditch, near Birmingham. Currently operated under the Best Western banner, the business has 57 bedrooms and extensive conference facilities and will join the De Vere Venues portfolio on 1 May. "It is a terrific wedding venue and an area of the business we hope to expand," said Dangerfield. "We currently host around 1,300 weddings across all out venues each year.

For future expansion of the company, Dangerfield is looking at all types of businesses offering excellent meetings and events spaces, and is particularly keen to get involved in more sports stadia, such as the franchise agreement it has at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford and the management contract at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

"We would like more space in London, around the M25, in the Midlands and Manchester," he added.

"A new investor in place will enable us to increase the size of our current portfolio by adding extra bedrooms and meeting spaces, as well as consider new acquisitions."

http://www.catererandhotelkeeper.co.uk/Articles/7/3/2013/347768/de-vere-venues-announces-first-franchise-agreement-with-heythrop-park.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">De Vere Group to sell venues business >>](http://www.catererandhotelkeeper.co.uk/Articles/16/4/2013/348139/de-vere-group-to-sell-venues-business.htm)

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De Vere Venues announces first franchise agreement with Heythrop Park >>

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