QMH sells its Sloane Square hotel

Troubled hotel group Queens Moat Houses (QMH) has signed a deal to sell its 105-bedroom hotel in London's Sloane Square.

The hotel is being bought by Sloane Square Hotel, a consortium of private investors, for £12.35m. The deal is expected to complete before 30 June. Proceeds from the sale will be used to repay some of QMH's massive £640m debt.

During the year ended 29 December 2002 the hotel generated profit of £1m on a turnover of £3.1m. At that time the property had a book value of £10.5m.

QMH is in the final stages of an auction of its entire portfolio, but last week's purchase of a 19% stake by a consortium involving investment bank Goldman Sachs and US hotel company Westmont Hospitality is understood to have blocked the sale.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 3 June 2004