Derby’s Riverlights Holiday Inn hotel, a prime destination for tourists and business visitors to the region, has been acquired by Starboard Hotels, marking the completion of a busy and successful year for the privately owned operator of multi-branded hotels.
As one of the UK’s fastest growing hotel businesses, the acquisition of the 105 bedroomed Holiday Inn Riverlights, sees the Starboard portfolio rise to 15 hotels across the UK, with four new hotels being added this year alone.
The Holiday Inn, a full service hotel with conference and banqueting facilities, was brought to the market by CBRE on behalf io Moorfield Group for offers in ecess of £6m. In addition to the hotel, Starboard have also purchased two retail untis with a view to expanding the hotel restaurant ad bar.
This latest acquisition also expands Starboard’s IHG (Intercontinental Hotel Group) property portfolio to six hotels under this global brand. Coutts & Co. provided senior debt for the acquisition, which is now the 14th hotel to be funded by the bank.
The acquisition further strengthens Starboard Hotels' presence in the UK hotel and hospitality sector. Founder and Managing Director, Paul Callingham said, “It has been a tremendous year of growth for Starboard and we are delighted to have made another important acquisition. We welcome the team from the Holiday Inn Derby into the Starboard ‘family’ and we are looking forward to working with the General Manager Carrie-Louise Holleran and her team.“
Kerian Barnes, Group Operations Director for Starboard, said, “This is a great hotel for us to take over and utilise all our experiences from our other IHG prop- erties to improve facilities and the overall guest experience.
'The purchase of the hotel also marks an exciting new era for this modern, centrally posi- tioned property as its new owners are already drawing up plans to improve the facilities and create new jobs. As Kerian explains: “We are looking at developing the ground floor at the Holiday Inn, where we will be expanding the hotel, introducing the open lobby concept and improving the restaurant and bar which will create new jobs for the area.”
The Holiday Inn purchase comes less than a month after Starboard acquired the Windermere Manor Hotel in the Lake District. With the new year firmly in their sights, Starboard Hotels are anticipating further acquisition news early in 2018 in addition to the commencement of building work on the new Hampton by Hilton hotel at London’s Park Royal, due to start in the Spring.
It now brings the total number of beds under Starboard Hotel’s ownership to 1424 under brands including Best Western, Ibis, Days Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Holiday Inn.