Spain-based Barcelo Hotels & Resorts has arrived at an agreement by which it will manage the prestigious Paramount Hotel chain, consisting of 20 four and five star properties throughout Great Britain.
Barcelo Hotels & Resorts today announced an agreement with Dawnay Shore Hotels PLC, the owner of the Paramount Hotel chain, to manage the company's 20 hotels throughout the United Kingdom. Beginning this September, Barcelo will be the management company of record for the chain of four and five star hotels located throughout England, Scotland and Wales. This is Barcelo's first move into the British hotel market, and could lead to further expansion throughout the UK. Barcelo presently operates hotels and resorts in 15 countries worldwide.
The hotels in the Paramount portfolio that will be managed by Barcelo include:
• Paramount Angel Hotel, 102 rooms, Cardiff, Wales
• Paramount Imperial Hotel, 151 rooms, Torquay, South England
• Paramount Redworth Hall Hotel, 143 rooms, Durham, North England
• Paramount Hotel Daventry, 155 rooms, Northamptonshire, Central England
• Paramount Hinckley Island Hotel, 349 rooms, Birmingham, Central England
• Coombe Grove Manor Hotel, 42 rooms, Bath, South England
• Paramount Basingstoke Hotel, 100 rooms, Hampshire, South England
• The Paramount Old Ship Hotel, 152 rooms, Brighton, South England
• Paramount Palace Hotel, 122 rooms, Buxton, North England
• Paramount Cheltenham Park Hotel, 152 rooms, Central England
• Shrigley Hall Hotel, 150 rooms, Cheshire, North England
• Lygon Arms Hotel, 69 rooms, Broadway, Central England
• Paramount Walton Hall Hotel, 130 rooms, Stratford, Central England
• Paramount Imperial Hotel, 180 rooms, Blackpool, North England
• Paramount Majestic Hotel, 156 rooms, Harrogate, North England
• Billesley Manor, 72 rooms, Stratford upon Avon, Central England
• Paramount Oxford Hotel, 168 rooms, Oxford, Central England
• Paramount Carlton Hotel, 189 rooms, Edinburgh, Scotland
• Paramount Marine Hotel, 89 rooms, Troon, Scotland
• Paramount Stirling Highland Hotel, 96 rooms, Stirling, Scotland
Although this is Barcelo's first move into the UK market, the Barcelo brand is well-known to UK travelers who have enjoyed staying at Barcelo Hotels and Resorts throughout Europe and Latin America. Each of the UK hotels will become part of the Barcelo Premium brand. Many of the properties are located in historic buildings and all contain contemporary amenities and services for business and leisure travelers.
The agreement with Dawnay Shore Hotels has been implemented by means of a long-term rental contract of 45 years and is part of Barcelo's strategic growth strategy throughout Europe. Barcelo intends to maintain the current structure and management team of the UK hotels.
Following this agreement, Barcelo becomes the leading Spanish-owned hotel company in Great Britain, and the UK becomes Barcelo's third largest country of operation, behind Spain and the US. With this agreement, Barcelo surpasses 150 hotels worldwide, meeting its growth objective through the end of 2007 several months early.
The geographical distribution of Barcelo Hotels is as follows:
Area Country Number of hotels
EUROPE & MEDITERRANEAN BASIN Spain 50
United Kingdom 20
Turkey 3
Bulgary 1
Czech Republic 1
Tunisia 1
Morocco 1
SUBTOTAL 77
NORTH AMERICA - Crestline
Hotels & Resorts USA 45
SUBTOTAL 45
CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA Mexico 11
Dominican Republic 10
Costa Rica 5
Cuba 3
Ecuador 1
Nicaragua 1
Uruguay 1
SUBTOTAL 32
TOTAL 154
