Billionaire brothers, private equity chase deal for easyHotel
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PRIVATE equity owners of budget travel company easyHotel are nearing a sale of the business.
London & Regional Properties, owned by the billionaire Livingstone brothers, is competing with a fund managed by Tristan Capital Partners to acquire the lodging firm, according to sources with knowledge of the auction who asked not to be identified citing private details. The process is in its final stages, with a winner set to be formally selected imminently, the sources said.
The majority owners of easyHotel, private equity firm ICAMAP and Ivanhoe Cambridge, appointed Rothschild to find a buyer for the company earlier this year with plans to seek more than £400 million (S$680 million).
Representatives for ICAMAP, Tristan Capital, London & Regional and Rothschild declined to comment. A representative for Ivanhoe Cambridge did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Hotels have been a rare bright spot in the property market, which has been battered by the effects of high interest rates. Investors have been lured by the ability to quickly pass on higher costs to consumers through rising room rates, which have remained strong as travel demand roared back after the pandemic.
ICAMAP and Ivanhoe Cambridge took easyHotel private in 2019. Today, the company has about 50 hotels in 11 countries, according to its website.
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EasyHotel was established by easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou in 2005. He retained a stake in the hotel company despite objecting to the take-private deal by ICAMAP and Ivanhoe Cambridge.
Tristan Capital is an active investor in budget hotels, with a majority stake in Point A Hotels. London & Regional’s hotel business, which hired Starwood Capital Group executive Cody Bradshaw as group chief executive earlier this year, owns 114 properties in nine countries, according to its website. BLOOMBERG
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