Leeds and Bradford hotel operator secures £10m re-financing deal

Peel Hotels PLC, which operates eight hotels and is listed on the AIM, has re-financed its nine-strong regional group with almost £10m of funding from Allied Irish Bank (GB).

Formed in 1998 by hotelier Robert Peel and his brother Charles, Peel Hotels has grown to have an annual turnover approaching £17m and around 500 employees.

Peel Hotels started with the Bull Hotel in Peterborough and now comprises the Caledonian Hotel, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; Cosmopolitan Hotel, Leeds; Crown & Mitre Hotel, Carlisle; George Hotel, Wallingford; King Malcolm Hotel, Dunfermline; Midland Hotel, Bradford; Norfolk Hotel, Bournemouth and the Strathdon Hotel, Nottingham.

The new funding arrangement with AIB (GB) includes a £9.9m, five-year term loan facility, which will support the Group’s ongoing programme of refurbishments and improvements, as well as branch banking services for the hotels.

Trish McNicholas, senior relationship manager and a hotel sector specialist at Allied Irish Bank (GB), said: “Robert is a very well-respected and well-known hotelier with a proven track record built up over five decades in the business.

“Earlier in his career he developed Thistle Hotels into the second largest hotel company in the UK and the largest in London.

“In Peel Hotels Robert and his strong management teams across the country have succeeded in building a group that provides both business and individual guests with very high standards in both hotel facilities and hospitality.

“AIB (GB) research undertaken earlier this year showed that, despite economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit, the hospitality sector is buoyant, with the UK on course to attract 38 million visitors in 2017 and regional hotels set to hit record occupancy levels. Peel Hotels is therefore well-placed to capitalise on those trends.”

Robert Peel added: “I’ve known AIB (GB) personally for around 15 years and have always had a very good relationship with my contact James O’Donnell and his colleagues there.

“I’ve been particularly impressed by their personal approach, which perfectly echoes my own philosophy of customer service.

“AIB (GB) also has a great deal of hospitality sector expertise, so they understand the nuances of my business, which is a real benefit. Trish and her colleagues have been incredibly helpful already and I’m looking forward to working with them in the years ahead.”

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