Upmarket UK hotel chains Malmaison and Hotel du Vin are under new ownership after being sold for £363million.
The hospitality arm of Singaporean real estate firm Frasers Centrepoint Limited (FCL) said yesterday it had bought the Malmaison and Hotel du Vin group (MHDV) from KSL Capital Partners, a Colorado-based private equity firm.
Thirteen Malmaisons – including the site on the Queen’s Road in Aberdeen – and 16 Hotel du Vins have been transferred to FCL as part of the deal.
The move takes Frasers Hospitality’s portfolio of hotel residences to 129 properties across 77 cities worldwide, including Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Frasers said the deal formed part of the firm’s expansion plans for the UK, Europe and Asia.
Frasers Hospitality chief executive Choe Peng Sum said: “The purchase of Malmaison and Hotel du Vin perfectly complements our brand portfolio and gives Frasers Hospitality a platform to expand into the fastest growing hospitality sector.
“With these two best-in-class lifestyle brands, we are on track to reach our goal of operating 30,000 keys by 2019.”
KSL, which owns the Village Urban Resort hotel in Kingswells near Aberdeen, started the sales process in January.
It took over MHDV in a £200million deal after the boutique hotels group’s previous owner, MWB, went bust in 2012.
MHDV has transformed itself into one of the sector’s big hitters since it was founded in 1994.
The group specialises in converting local landmarks, including a former castle prison, a hospital, a sugar refinery and a Royal Mail sorting office, into hotels.
Malmaison has been in Aberdeen since 2008, but the city is currently without a Hotel du Vin.
MHDV bought part of Robert Gordon University’s Schoolhill campus at the end of last year with a view to developing a 200-room hotel in the city.
At the time, the group declined to say whether the property would operate under the Malmaison or Hotel du Vin brand.
It is unclear what will become of the plans in light of the acquisition.
Frasers was unavailable for comment yesterday evening.
As well as in Aberdeen, Malmaison has locations in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, while Hotel du Vins can be found in St Andrews, Edinburgh and Glasgow.