About Us
Countrywide Hotel & Site Acquisitions has been set up by the highly successful acquisitions team from Golden Tulip (UK) after their buy out from Whitbread PLC in September 2007.
The acquisitions team started looking for sites in 2003 and by mid 2007 we had located and built 7 hotels after researching more than 2000 sites. In addition we had signed up a further 11 sites which we had selected as being highly suitable for 3 or 4 star hotels for which we had carried out all the research and design work and were in the process of obtaining planning permission.
In addition we had Heads of Terms agreed on a further 6 sites around the country. These ranged from single stand alone sites to complicated mixed use developments where we added value by introducing the hotel element. These developments often had residential, office or leisure as part of the scheme.
Either the land was sold by the developer with the benefit of planning permission or built out and sold or leased.
The team at CHSA are now using this expertise to help landowners and developers, and their agents to maximise the potential of their sites by finding the right hotel operator and the best structure for the deal.
The new team consists of Peter Roberts, Angela Crawshaw, Becky Anderson and also Selina Shackleton who between them have extensive experience in hotel site acquisitions and their development. This work has involved both the design and development of the various sites and hotels as well as the operating procedures required to make them successful.
This combined experience means that we can identify the key requirements of a successful site both from the point of view of the developer and the operator as well as the right standard of hotel, whether it being a single stand alone site or a large mixed used scheme.
In particular we have a agreement with Whitbread PLC to help them roll out their new PI's. This is a very exciting opportunity for us to be involved with them in their rapid expansion plans throughout the UK and Ireland as the UK's strongest and largest hotel brand.In today's volatile financial market there will also be significant advantages for developers and investors provided by the company's significant strength of covenant. CHA will have a very wide remit and direct access to the decision makers at Premier Inn with whom we will be working.
Premier Inn are interested in acquiring either freehold sites or existing hotels or entering into lease agreements for hotels of between 40 and 400 rooms. These sites vary from the smaller hotels with a family restaurant concept (eg Beefeater) on the edge of towns and cities through to city centre stand alone sites.
Whilst this is clearly a primary task for us, Premier Inns already have 500 hotels throughout the UK and Ireland and not every site will be suitable for them.
However, there is also a keen interest from other hotel operators to acquire sites throughout the UK and Ireland, and we have interviewed the majority of the main players in the market and as a result have detailed knowledge of their requirements. This includes the size and type of hotel and more importantly the structure of the deal they are likely to be interested in.
There is a wide disparity in the structure of these deals and they can range from:
- Outright land purchase
- J.V with developers
- Franchise
- Freehold development
- Purchase of turnkey completed development
- Leaseholds
- Management Agreements
We do not get involved with the direct negotiation or valuations of these properties but can advise on the various construction costs and level of rents/prices paid by the operators.
The Sites we want
We are looking for sites all round the UK and Ireland, to take anywhere between 50 and 400 room hotels.
Site areas obviously depend on the build heights allowed by the planning authorisation and the amount of car parking on site. They normally vary between 0.5 and 2 acres. Generally car parking at 80% of the room numbers is required where the site is on the edge of towns/cities or in business parks.
Parking is mostly not required in the centres provided there is an NCP or similar within 5 minutes walk.
We prefer sites where there is a population of 100,000 people within a 15 minute drive and 150 businesses with at least 50 employees.
The smaller hotels would normally have a standalone restaurant alongside and be near a residential catchment area.
All sites should have good access and visibility and have services readily available.
