Permira Acquires Principal Hayley Hotels

Principal Hotels is a four star hotel chain comprising six hotels, including The Russell (London) and The George (Edinburgh), which compete in the upper mid-market segment of the UK hotel market and have an established presence in the residential conference market.In September 2006, the Permira Funds invested in Venice Luxco Sarl to support the EUR468.9 million management buyout of Principal Hotels. The hotels, which operate throughout the UK, are prominently located in key regional markets and benefit from strong corporate and leisure demand.The strategy developed by the management team will focus on strengthening the company?s position in the residential conference market in the UK, repositioning newly refurbished assets and pursuing improvements in select hotels. Further conference rooms, bedrooms and leisure facilities will be added to the properties where there is sufficient demand. Management are identifying suitable add-on acquisitions in the upscale hotel market in the UK and Europe, with the goal of enhancing and diversifying the existing hotel portfolio.