ROYAL Bank of Scotland has sold the five-star Hilton Glasgow hotel to Gibraltar-based Topland Group in a £35.7 million deal.
The hotel, located on William Street in the city centre, was the last of an 11-strong portfolio of Hilton hotels acquired by the Edinburgh-based bank in 2001 in a £312m sale-and-leaseback deal.
Its disposal comes just two weeks after part-nationalised RBS sold the 96-bedroom Hilton Grosvenor in Glasgow’s west end to London-based Indian multimillionaire Joginder Sanger’s Mastcraft for £9.45m.
Topland, owned by brothers Eddie and Sol Zakay, already owns several Scottish properties. It acquired the Thistle hotel in Edinburgh in 2005 as part of a £185m deal to buy five Thistle hotels across the UK.
Its portfolio also includes Portlethen retail park near Aberdeen and a Marks & Spencer store in Dunfermline, Fife.
Earlier this year Topland bought the Hilton Brighton Metropole from RBS for £39.25m.
RBS chief executive Stephen Hester designated the Hilton portfolio as “non-core” two years ago as he set about cleaning up the bank’s balance sheet.
RBS, which is 83% owned by the taxpayer, said the latest sale demonstrated its “continued progress” in reducing the assets on its books. The 20-storey Hilton Glasgow hotel had been valued at upwards of £50m.
The 319-room hotel was Glasgow’s first five-star hotel when it opened 19 years ago. It boasts a 15-metre swimming pool, spa and gym.
Its guests have included comedian Billy Connolly, Nelson Mandela, former US president Bill Clinton, actor Kirk Douglas and pop star Kylie Minogue.
RBS’s purchase of 11 Hilton hotels was the first time that a UK bank had bought a hotel portfolio for itself rather than on behalf of a property company or other landlord.
It was regarded as a good deal for Hilton, which retained the management contracts. The rent varied with the income. Hilton was also free to carry out alterations without the bank’s consent.
The hotel industry has become less attractive for banks since revenues came under pressure during the economic downturn as businesses cut back on travel expenses.
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