Taylor Wessing advises on the sale of four star hotel

Lawyers Neil Smyth

Taylor Wessing has advised on the sale of a four star hotel under franchise as the Doubletree by Hilton Newcastle International Airport, in northeast England. The hotel is expected to open in October 2011 and has been sold to the Cairn Hotel Group, who currently own and operate 18 hotels throughout the UK. The sale of the Doubletree was conducted via administrative receivers at Zolfo Cooper.

The Taylor Wessing cross-discipline team performed a dual role in the transaction, acting both for Zolfo Cooper on the sale, in addition to advising Europe Arab Bank on the provision of debt funding.

The complexities raised by the fact that the sellers are in administrative receivership, in addition to the innovative funding structures which were required, gave rise to a raft of challenges, which were overcome by the team to ultimately secure an arrangement that was acceptable for all parties.

The cross-discipline Taylor Wessing team was lead by partner Neil Smyth (Restructuring & Corporate Recovery).

Neil Smyth, comments:

"We are delighted to have successfully completed the sale of the Doubletree Hotel on behalf of the administrative receivers of the Group, particularly given the current market challenges. This was a complex transaction, with our Taylor Wessing team advising both the receivers and the funders, which required our team to operate both flexibly and creatively. To establish the new hotel in a challenging trading market will require all parties to work together and we are delighted to have been able to secure a deal that has been agreeable to all.”

ENDS