Pandox claims the lead in Lone Star's Jurys Inn sale

In the running to acquire the Jurys Inn hotel line, Sweden-based hotel investor Pandox has snagged the lead. The firm has announced plans to buy up 36 hotels in Britain and Ireland as well as the Hilton Garden Inn Heathrow from debt-ridden U.S. private equity owner and investor Lone Star Funds in a £800-million deal. While Lone Star was also considering selling off even more hotels included in its Amaris Hospitality hotel group with the Hilton Islington and Chelsea, the investor has decided to hold off on those plans. 

Pandox has not set plans to rebrand the Jurys Inn and Hilton Garden Inn Heathrow properties. However, Leonardo Hotels would take over site management as part of the transaction. "The deal is complex and that current negotiations may not necessarily lead to an agreement, and that it is not certain that the transaction will be successfully concluded," Pandox said in a statement.

Real estate and leisure investment firm London and Regional Properties, along with private equity and trade buyers from Asia and the UK, have all offered up their bids for the Jury's Inn hotel chain. 

Lone Star also held off on its debt restructuring efforts once the investor added the Jurys Inn chain to its portfolio following a transaction with the Oman Investment Fund, Mount Kellett Capital Management, Ulster Bank, Westmont Hospitality Group and Avestus Capital Partners. It has invested over £100 million since then, which gave the brand a 14-percent boost in earnings for year-end 2015 before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Lone Star announced the hotel sale back in May 2017. "Lone Star had decided to explore options after receiving unsolicited approaches from a number of interested parties, thought to include Chinese suitors," a source told The Times. Credit Suisse and Eastdil Secured are advising Lone Star on the hotel sale.