SWALLOW Hotels’ senior management team will meet with new owners Whitbread next week to iron out their future following the £578m takeover of the predominantly four-star chain.
The deal will see 36 Swallow hotels added to the 38 that Whitbread already operate under the Marriott name in the UK. It will also consolidate Whitbread’s position as the UK’s second largest hotel operator .
The acquisition has left a question mark over the future of Swallow Hotels’ managing director Roger Carrigan and also group chief executive Peter Catesby.
Carrigan is due to meet Alan Parker, managing director of Whitbread’s hotel division, while Catesby is also to hold talks with his Whitbread counterpart David Thomas.
Parker confirmed that at least 100 Swallow jobs would be affected by the takeover and added that the group’s Sunderland headquarters will also close. Swallow currently employs around 5,000 people nationally.
“The organisation structure has yet to be confirmed. We are in the process of holding discussions with management,” said Parker.
“We will be maintaining the Swallow brand which will be run separately until the final transition to the Marriott brand name in two years’ time.”
Whitbread will be investing £50m over the next two years to upgrade and rebrand Swallow properties into its core Marriott portfolio.
Parker confirmed that those hotels which do not fit into the Marriott portfolio would be sold either as individual properties or as a small collection.
“We don’t have a disposal strategy as the approach is to rebrand and convert the maximum amount of hotels as possible. Therefore I would not expect to have a significant number of hotels for disposal,” said Parker.
“Our vision is to create Britain’s leading four-star hotel operator. This means having quality people and also a strong brand.
“The hotel market is poised for long-term growth.
“The macro-economic forecast for steady growth opportunities in the UK are in telecommunications, information technology and tourism.”