Park Plaza owner ‘not distracted’ after sale talks fail

PPHE Group, the owner of the Park Plaza hotel chain, declared itself "unperturbed from our core focus" following a failed takeover attempt by a rival hotel operator. Despite reporting a slowdown in revenue growth in the latest quarter, the FTSE 250 firm's board maintained its commitment to maximizing shareholder value through operational improvements and balance sheet simplification.

The hotel group, which owns Park Plaza and Art'otel among others, reported a £135m pre-tax profit in the six months leading up to June, a contrast to a £10m loss in the same period a year prior. While total revenue and revenue per room rose by 4.7 and 3.9 percent respectively, growth has slowed since the first quarter, marked by eight and 4.9 percent increases.

Several factors have been cited as contributing to this slowdown, including recent business rate hikes and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Business rates have climbed, with an average UK hotel seeing a £28,900 increase in the tax bill this year, and the impact expected to grow to £111,300 by the end of the decade.

Furthermore, the group attributed its achievements to strong trading at its UK hotels and a favorable exchange rate between the Euro and the Sterling. However, it has also been proactive in improving its financial standing, recently acquiring the freehold rights to its Park Plaza hotel in Waterloo for £147.9m. This acquisition contributed to the significant jump in reported profit.

The group's efforts to bolster its balance sheet have also included the sale of its Manhattan development site to a US real estate developer for $33.5m in February.