Conference facilities at six hotels owned by Northern Ireland group Hastings will trade under the De Vere brand for sales, marketing and booking purposes under an associate agreement reached yesterday with the publicly quoted UK hotel and pub group, Greenalls. Hastings's general hotel business will continue to trade under its original name.
No figure has been disclosed for the deal, which was described as "strictly an associate agreement" by a Greenalls spokeswoman. "This is not a merger, acquisition or a joint venture," she said. There were no plans to extend the associate relationship, she added. No Hastings spokesperson was available to comment on the deal yesterday.
Hastings has six four- and five-star hotels in the North, including the Culloden in Co Down and the Stormont Hotel. It also owns a restaurant and two health clubs.
The Merrion Hotel in Dublin, 50 per cent owned by Hastings, is not included in the deal with Greenalls, hotel manager Mr Peter MacCann said yesterday. The other shareholders in the Merrion hotel are AIB chairman, Mr Lochlann Quinn, and Mr Martin Naughton.
The deal with Hastings was a "good strategic fit", Greenalls said in a statement. It said the arrangement continued a trend established last April when it signed a similar associate agreement with Chester-based St David's Hotels group. Yesterday's agreement brings to 25 the number of four- and five-star hotels now trading under the De Vere brand in Britain and the North. Six of these are owned by Hastings, two belong to St David's and 17 are operated by Greenalls.
The group's hotel and leisure business reported a pre-tax profit of £20.5 million sterling in the six months to March 26th.
