Hilton Worldwide owner the Blackstone Group has purchased Mint Hotel in a deal believed to be worth £600 million, and will integrate the chain’s properties into its Doubletree and Garden Inn brands, according to media reports.
Mint Hotel – itself rebranded from its previous name City Inn late last year (see online news November 29, 2010) – has a total of eight properties, in UK cities including Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds and Manchester.
The group also has two hotels in London, including the recently opened Mint Hotel Tower of London, and also opened a property in Amsterdam earlier this year.
According to a report by Bloomberg, “Blackstone’s Hilton International chain will reposition the Mint hotels within its Doubletree by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn brands”. The Doubletree brand falls within Hilton’s Full service portfolio of brands, which includes Hilton Hotels and Resorts, while Hilton Garden Inn sits within the Focused service category, alongside the Hampton by Hilton offering.
Commenting in the acquisition, David JM Orr, chief Executive and co-founder of Mint Hotel, said:
“After nearly 16 years spent building Mint into the brand that it now is, a transaction has been agreed that gives the business a new future. We have a fantastic team of over 1,500 employees who have worked tirelessly to deliver the outstanding level of service that our customers’ deserve. ”
“In Blackstone, the business now has a global investor with a strong and expansive track record in the hospitality sector. We feel confident that they will continue to manage the hotels in a manner that is true to its business identity. We wish the new managers every success with the business and are hugely proud to have built it up to the position it now is in.”
For more information visit minthotel.com, blackstone.com, hilton.com.
Report by Mark Caswell
