UK: Peel Hotels has sold its Leeds city centre property, The Cosmopolitan Hotel, to the newly formed Belfont Hotels, a joint venture owned by the Thakerar and Dhamecha families.
The Cosmopolitan Hotel comprises 89 rooms, a ground floor lounge, bar and restaurant.
Following its first acquisition, Belfont Hotels plans to add other properties to its portfolio within key cities around the country.
On behalf of Belfont Hotels, Keval Thakerar said: “We are excited to have secured such a diverse hotel as The Cosmopolitan. Leeds city centre generates such strong corporate and leisure demand across the year and, once our investment has been undertaken, we will have one of the best hospitality venues in the city.”
Akshay Dhameca added: “We look forward to working with the Thakerar Family on our first hotel acquisition and further growing the Belfont Hotel portfolio. The Cosmopolitan is a landmark building in the heart of the city and with further investment to the hotel, we are confident the hotel will be very popular. We are glad to have Countrywide Hotels as our management team where their experience has proved paramount.”
Peel Hotels sold the property to focus on its remaining hotels across the UK. The sale was managed by Christie & Co.
Jeremy Jones, head of hotels brokerage at Christie & Co, handled the deal. He said: “When we launched The Cosmopolitan to the market earlier this year, we received a huge response from a whole range of parties. To be announcing the sale of such a substantial hotel at this time is evidence of the very real activity Christie & Co is seeing across the whole of the UK. Watch out for the announcement of further hotel sales in the weeks ahead. We wish the team at Belfont Hotels all the very best with their first hotel.”
David Lee, regional hotel director (North East) at Christie & Co, added: “The Cosmopolitan Hotel is one of the most iconic hotels in the city of Leeds, occupying a position right in the heart of the city. The considerable interest shown in the hotel during the process demonstrates that demand for quality hospitality assets in the Yorkshire area remains undiminished. We welcome Belfont Hotels to the city!”
