hotels


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PhiLiPPe ROssiteR is chief executive of the institute of hospitality


New operator for Jarvis portfolio


A newly created hotel group, Jupiter Hotels, has acquired 24 hotels from the adminis- trators of Jarvis Hotels. Jupiter is a joint venture


O


ctober 2011’s Office of National Statistics (ONS) report on employment shows the num- ber of people in work aged 16


and over fell by 178,000 for the quarter, and by 47,000 for the year to just more than 29 million. Tis is the largest quarterly fall in the number of people in employment since the three months to July 2009. In the same quarter, the number of peo-


ple working part-time also dropped by 175,000, and this is the largest quarterly decrease in this category since comparable records began in 1992. Unsurprisingly, the unemployment rate has continued to rise, with the result that the number of unem- ployed people has not been higher since October 1994. Most worryingly in these sta- tistics is the fact that the unemployment level and rate of people between the ages of 16 and 24 have reached their highest since comparable records began in 1992. While these statistics cover the gen-


eral economy, they conceal the good news which the hospitality sector can provide. According to its recent State of the Nation report, People 1st – the industry’s sector skills council – suggests the sector appears to be bucking the general economic trend, with its workforce having grown by some 14 per cent since 2004. As if this was not enough, the industry is predicted to con- tinue along this curve, with more than 100,000 people required annually to fill the increase in the number of jobs, as well as to satisfy the replacement demand for existing posts being vacated. Most telling is that the sector continues to employ a much younger workforce than across the economy as a whole, where 44 per cent of employ- ees are below the age of 30, compared to a national average of just 24 per cent. Faced with these realities, the hospital-


ity industry must reach out to those who are unemployed. It can offer a wide vari- ety of roles to match the needs and skills of individuals. As an industry, it has very low ‘barriers to entry’; it can accommodate younger and older workers, is able to offer flexible working, and is a fun and exciting sector in which to work. What a positive message in an otherwise gloomy world!


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created for the transaction by private investor Patron Capital and West Register, an arm of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Andrew Gill has been


named interim chief execu- tive officer of Jupiter Hotels. With the exception of Jarvis’s board, all existing employees of Jarvis’ head office and the hotels will move to Jupiter. Te hotels will be rebranded


Te properties will now be rebranded Mercure under a deal with Accor


Mercure, under a franchise agreement with French hotel giant Accor. Te deal is the single biggest franchise contract for Accor this year. The joint venture investors are injecting


£40m, with debt financing of £71m provided by RBS, HSBC and Bank of Ireland, which were the original lenders to Jarvis.


Stephen Green, Patron Capital’s senior part-


ner, special situations, said: “We are delighted that West Register chose to partner with Patron Capital on this complicated restructuring trans- action. Te result is to the benefit of a wide range of stakeholders, including 1,900 employ- ees across the UK.”


Brighton’s Blanch House reopens after revamp Te hotel’s Perrier Jouet room has retained


Te new-look Blanch House hotel in Brighton has re-opened aſter undergoing an extensive re-design and refurbishment. Housed in a Grade II-listed Regency build-


ing, the 12-bedroom boutique hotel has been sympathetically restored during the project.


many of its original architectural features and offers a view of the sea. Meanwhile,the Moroccan room’s walls are painted to give an exotic feel and the Alice room creates a quirky ‘wonderland’ with mirrored wallpaper.


Morgans to offload two London properties


Morgans Hotel Group (MHG) has sold its two London, UK hotels – Te Sanderson and St Martins Lane – for £192m to Capital Hill Hotels, a Middle Eastern investor with a num- ber of global hotel holdings. Morgans owned the hotels


in a 50-50 joint venture with Walton Street Capital. The partners have entered into a definitive agreement that will represent a value of around £542,000 per room. Morgans will continue to


manage the two hotels under long-term agreements. The terms of the management agreements, including extension options, have been lengthened to 2041 from 2027. Michael Gross, chief executive officer of MHG, said: “Our continued management of


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital Te Sanderson and St Martins Lane have been sold by MHG for £192m


these two great London assets and the proceeds from the sale will help provide the foundation for continued growth of our management busi- ness and brands around the world.”


Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2011


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