Pphe Hotel Regulatory News (PPH)

14 Mar 2008 09:26

Park Plaza Hotels Limited14 March 2008 14 March 2008 Park Plaza Hotels Limited (Park Plaza) Joint venture agreement to develop London's first art'otel Park Plaza, owner and operator of 4-star hotels in Europe and the Middle East,is pleased to announce that it has entered into a joint venture with AldersgateInvestments Limited (Aldersgate), the property vehicle of the Reuben Brothers,to develop a new apart-hotel under the "art'otel" brand. The hotel will belocated in the trendy area of Hoxton, on the edge of the City of London. Under the joint venture, Park Plaza will, through a newly formed wholly-ownedsubsidiary, Apex Holdings (UK) Limited (Apex), own 50% of the issued sharecapital of Aspirations Limited (Aspirations), the company that owns the site onwhich the hotel is proposed to be developed. Apex will pay a cash consideration of approximately £3 million for the shares.In addition, Apex will advance a loan of approximately £8 million to Aspirationswhich will be used towards the partial repayment of a loan made to Aspirationsby Aldersgate. Following completion Aspirations will be indebted to each of itsshareholders for the same amount and on the same terms. The consideration forthe shares and the loan from Apex to Aspirations will be funded by Park Plazafrom existing cash resources. The art'otel brand is built on the concept of individually themed boutiquehotels, each of which pays homage to a well-known modern artist. These hotelsoperate in the 4-star price category and appeal to a sophisticated clientelewith an interest in art and culture. For the proposed hotel in Hoxton, Park Plaza is talking to a number of people inorder to identify a well known artist to be exclusively connected with thehotel. This artist will be involved in the interior design and feel of thehotel throughout the development phase and their artwork will be exhibited atthe hotel when it opens. It is anticipated that the proposed hotel will consistof several hundred rooms and suites and a choice of restaurants and bars. It isproposed that the facilities will reflect the brand proposition and include anart gallery and two auditoriums, which will show cult films and house aphotograph studio. It is expected that a planning application will be submittedlater this year. Park Plaza Hotels Europe B.V. has entered into an agreement with Aspirations tooperate and manage the hotel for an initial term of 20 years from the opening ofthe hotel. As at 31 January 2008 the unaudited net asset value of Aspirations was£6,041,528. For the 10 months ended 31 January 2008, Aspirations made anunaudited loss of £483,472. Boris Ivesha, CEO of Park Plaza, said: "We are extremely pleased to announce the development of London's firstart'otel. Suitable sites in London to build new hotels are difficult to find,so this is an exciting opportunity for us to purpose build London's firstart'otel that will fully reflect the brand proposition. In addition to theattractive location of this new hotel for business travel, the art'otel conceptis well suited for this trendy area of London. This development will also addto our portfolio of rooms, providing further impetus to our strategy to doublethe number of rooms to over 8,000 by 2010." www.parkplazahotels.net Enquiries: Park Plaza Boris Ivesha Tel: +44 (0)20 7034 4800Park Plaza Chen Moravsky Tel: +31 (0)20 305 8351 Hudson SandlerJessica Rouleau/Wendy Baker Tel: +44 (0) 20 7796 4133 Notes to Editors The Park Plaza group is owner, operator and franchisor of hotels in Europe, theMiddle East and Africa. The group operates under two brands: Park Plaza Hotels& Resorts (part of Carlson Hotels Worldwide), over which the group has exclusiverights in 56 countries in EMEA and art'otel, a brand to which the Group hasexclusive worldwide rights. Park Plaza Hotels also manages the luxury all-suitePlaza on the River - Club and Residence, London. Through its strategic partnership with Carlson, one of the world's largesttravel and hospitality companies, Park Plaza Hotels has access to Carlson'spowerful reservation and distribution system, airline partnerships with 19airlines, loyalty programmes such as goldpointsplusSM for guests and Look ToBook(R) for travel agents, and cross-selling opportunities. There are currently 26 properties and over 4,700 rooms in the Group's portfolio.By 2010, the Group's committed projects and territorial franchise agreementsare expected to increase the number of rooms to over 8,000. Projects already under development include Park Plaza Marrakech (2009), ParkPlaza Nuremberg (2009), art'otel cologne (2009) and Park Plaza WestminsterBridge, London (2010). Park Plaza Hotels floated on London's AIM Stock Market in July 2007. Aldersgate Investments Limited is the property vehicle of the Reuben Brothers,which has significant property assets and a development portfolio, includingsites in London Embankment, Paddington, High Wycombe, Newcastle and Gibraltar. END This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange