Fattal Holdings (1998) Ltd. (TASE:FTAL), which holds, rents, and manages 186 hotels in Israel and Europe (including hotels under construction), has signed a joint agreement with the Pandox hotel chain to acquire The Midland, a prestigious hotel in Manchester, for £115 million.
Fattal will rent and manage the hotel for 35 years. Its share in the purchase amounts to £14 million. The two companies will also invest £11 million in upgrading the hotel, including construction of new rooms.
Fattal said that it intends to use its own resources to pay for the deal. Completion of the deal is planned by the end of the year.
The Midland, which first opened in 1903, is a tourist icon. The hotel, which has a four-star superior rating, contains 312 hotel rooms, 12 meeting rooms (the largest of which seats 700 people), a fitness room, four restaurants, and a spa. It is located close to the main tourist attractions in Manchester.
Manchester is the second largest tourist city in the UK. 28 million passengers passed through its airport in 2017.
This acquisition is a continuation of Fattal's cooperation with the Pandox hotel chain, which has 38 hotels in Germany, the UK, and Ireland. Fattal signed a sale and lease back agreement with Pandox in 2015 for 18 hotels in Germany. Last year, the parties made the largest hotel deal in Europe, in which Fattal acquired the leasing and management of 36 Jurys Inn hotels, 20 of which are owned by Pandox.
Fattal's share price is down slightly in trading today. Since the company's IPO in February, in which it raised NIS 500 million, the company's share price has risen 32%, pushing its market cap up to NIS 5.9 billion.
Fattal Holdings controlling shareholder, CEO, and chairperson David Fattal said today, "The Midland is a tourist icon. It is one of the best hotels in the UK, and will be a significant addition to the Fattal group's portfolio of properties in the UK, which will number 9,309 rooms in 44 hotels when the deal is completed."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 15, 2018
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