BAA has set up an investment group to look after its airport hotel portfolio.
The £200m Airport Hotels Partnership will manage eight of the main airport hotels in the UK.
It includes three Hiltons at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, Le Meridien at Gatwick, two Renaissance hotels at Heathrow and Gatwick, the Travel Inn at Gatwick and the Stakis at Edinburgh.
BAA will hold a 25% share in the partnership and manage it under its Lynton property arm.
The company is looking for a minimum of five other shareholders. A maximum has not been set.
New partners will raise up to £150m for BAA.
BAA Lynton managing director Andrew Jurenko said: “This new partnership is unique in an industry where hotels are rarely open to a consortium of investors.
“The arrangements offer BAA the opportunity to realise the value which it has added to these assets, with minimum risk, while still retaining a management role.”
BAA Lynton will be the sole developer of any extensions to the eight hotels or new sites.
Proposed new hotels are set for Stansted, Glasgow, Hatton Cross at Heathrow and at Terminal 5 if it is built.
The partnership’s first commitment will be to the £80m extension at the Hilton hotel at Heathrow’s Terminal 4. This will add 245 rooms to almost double capacity and a convention hall for 1,000 delegates.
The eight hotels which the new group be looking after have one of the highest occupancy rates of any hotel in Europe due to their proximity to airports and extensive meeting facilities.