London & Regional reportedly is moving into the limited-service sector by agreeing to acquire from Lone Star the 47-hotel Atlas Hotels portfolio in the U.K. for £575 million (US$840 million).
The portfolio comprises 5,575 bedrooms, including 46 Holiday Inn Express hotels and one Hampton by Hilton in Liverpool, England. Last year, IHG’s franchise agreement for the Holiday Inn hotels was extended by 15 years.
Lone Star acquired Somerston Hotels (rebranded Atlas) as part of its 2014 purchase of the £5.2 billion (US$7.6 billion) Rock and Salt non-performing loan portfolios from IBRC.
Atlas has been held by Lone Star’s £2 billion Amaris Hospitality group, which owns 89 hotels, including 29 Jurys Inns. The company is likely to be sold or floated in the next two years.