US private equity firm KSL Capital Partner buys De Vere’s Village resorts for £485m
British hotels and leisure firm De Vere Group yesterday agreed the £485m sale of its Village Urban Resorts hotels chain to US private equity firm KSL Capital Partner.
KSL – a Denver-headquartered firm focused on the travel and leisure businesses – acquires the Village’s 25 existing hotels along with three new properties under development in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The American investor has appointed former Malmaison and Hotel du Vin chief executive Gary Davis to head up the new purchase.
Coley Brenan, a principal at KSL, said: “Village occupies a unique position in the UK market because of all it has to offer consumers. With a very strong following and thousands of loyal members, we believe Village has tremendous potential for future growth.”
KSL won a heavily contested auction for the hotels group, which De Vere put up for sale in the summer for an initial price of £450m.
After De Vere received 18 bids, KSL eventually fought off strong competition from US rival KKR and Hong Kong’s Great Eagle to take the prized company.