Iranian developer Vincent Tchenguiz to sell 10 UK Hilton hotels

Iranian property developer Vincent Tchenguiz is planning to sell 10 Hilton hotels across England with a combined price tag of up to £600 million.
 
Tchenguiz is expected to sell the hotels individually. The largest property, and likely the first to hit the market, will be the 603-room Kensington Hilton, which is expected to command a £300-million asking price. The other hotels are in Cobham, Croydon, East Midlands airport, Leeds, Northampton, Nottingham, Tewkesbury and Watford. 

Tchenguiz originally purchased the hotels from the Hilton Group back in 2002. The £335.7-million deal let Hilton retain a 40-percent stake in the hotels, which were leased back to the hotel group. Hilton later sold the rest of its interest to Tchenguiz in 2006, and he now owns the hotels outright.

Hilton still retains operational control of the hotels until 2029 under the terms of its deal with Tchenguiz. As such, any new buyers will need to collect rent from the Hilton Worldwide company.

The complete 10-property portfolio has a total of 2,400 rooms, and carries a debt of approximately £250 million.

The proposed sale is part of a wider refinancing of Tchenguiz’s interests after the collapse of a Serious Fraud Office investigation into both him and his brother Robert.

Sources: The Times, Business Sale

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