Three giant US hotel investors are reported to be among the second-round bidders in the £450 million-plus auction of De Vere Group’s Village Urban Resorts chain.
Blackstone Group, Starwood Capital and KSL Capital Partners are believed to be on a shortlist of four or five suitors that is also said to include London-based Queensgate Investments, the Times reported.
The auction of the 25 Village hotels attracted about 20 bids. A dozen were deemed to be “credible offers” in terms of price and funding.
The highest offer is understood to be have been pitched at £470 million, with all the shortlisted parties said to have lodged bids of £450 million or more.
Blackstone’s biggest investments have included Hilton Worldwide and Center Parcs, while Starwood Capital was the buyer for De Vere Venues.
KSL Capital Partners owns The Belfry, the Ryder Cup venue near Birmingham, and last year paid £200 million for the Malmaison and Hotel du Vin chains.
Queensgate is backing the development of a luxury InterContinental hotel near the O2 arena in east London.