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| Industry | Hospitality |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1994 |
| Defunct | 2015 |
| Headquarters | Hinckley, United Kingdom |
Area served | United Kingdom |
| Parent | Amaris Hospitality |
| Website | www.thehotelcollection.co.uk |
The Hotel Collection (formerly Puma Hotels Collection until 2013, Barceló Hotels until 2012[1] and the Paramount Group of Hotels before that) was a group of4-star mid-markethotels operating in the United Kingdom. The group also included 18 health and leisure clubs. It ceased to exist as a separate entity, in 2015, when it was injected into the Amaris Hospitality portfolio who progressively sold off all the hotels
The Hotel Collection started as Paramount Hotels in 1994 with four hotels:Shrigley Hall in Cheshire, theAngel Hotel inCardiff, the Prince of Wales inSouthport (since sold toBritannia Hotels) and thePalace Hotel inBuxton.[2] It then purchased the Cheltenham Park Hotel inCheltenham. In 1997 three further hotels were acquired fromForte Hotels: theImperial Hotel in Blackpool, the Imperial Hotel in Torquay and theDoubleTree by Hilton Harrogate Majestic Hotel & Spa (previously known as The Majestic Hotel) in Harrogate. In 1999 the Old Ship inBrighton was purchased, and then the group acquired four hotels from the Scottish Highland Group, comprising the Carlton Hotel in Edinburgh,Redworth Hall in County Durham, the Marine in Troon and the Stirling Highland Hotel inStirling. In 2000 the group bought the Oxford Hotel, just outsideOxford city centre. Dawnay Day Hotel Management Limited was created in 2004 to manage the portfolio of hotels on behalf of theDawnay Day Group. The previous management which have since set up QHotels with 3 former Paramount Hotels, the Queens inLeeds, the Midland Hotel inManchester and Chesford Grange in the South East of England.[citation needed]
Under the new management, in January 2005 the group grew again with the acquisition of three Hanover Hotels atBasingstoke,Daventry andHinckley. The Head Office was since moved from Morley in Leeds to Hinckley Island Hotel. These acquisitions were followed later that year byWalton Hall & Hotel. In December, a further two hotels were purchased from Furlong; the Billesley Manor Hotel, nearStratford-upon-Avon; and the Combe Grove Manor Hotel, nearBath. Under Paramount management the Lygon Arms ceased to be a member of the Small Leading Hotels of the World and the Imperial Hotel Torquay lost its five star rating, reducing the group to a mid-market four star operator
In September 2007, the Spanish company Barceló Hotels & Resorts obtained a 45-year lease, to manage the group, from the owners Dawnay Day Shore Hotels, now Puma Hotels Ltd.[3] Barceló, who operated in 16 other countries, took over 21 UK properties.[4] However, as of 25 April 2012, Barceló Hotels withdrew from the UK market, paying £20.25m to break their lease agreement with the owners of the hotels.
Puma Hotels initially indicated it would revive the Paramount brand, but instead adopted its own name as the hotels brand.[5] Then, from 10 June 2014, Puma Hotels re-branded the chain as 'The Hotel Collection' after being purchased byLone Star Funds, a US-based private equity group, for £323m. The group continued to run the same 21 hotels.[6]
In late 2014, the Hotel Collection announced it would dispose of 4 properties. The Palace Hotel (Buxton) (since sold to Britannia Hotels), the Marine Hotel (Troon), the Cheltenham Park Hotel and the Basingstoke Country Hotel (also since sold to Britannia Hotels). The previous CEO Fredrik Korallus was replaced with ex-Travelodge CEO,Grant Hearn as of November 2014.[7]
On 6 July 2015 Lone Star, owners of the Collection, announced that it would bring together 89 hotels after the further acquisition of 29Jurys Inn Hotels, 21Mercure Hotels, 19Thistle Hotels along with threeHilton hotels in a new umbrella company under the name of 'Amaris Hospitality'. Grant Hearn became non-executive chairman of Amaris with John Brennan operating as the company's CEO.[8] 'The Hotel Collection' ceased to exist as an entity in 2015 and, as part of an extensive disposal programme, all of their hotels were sold off. It was announced on 13 July 2018 that Amaris Hospitality was acquired by LRC Group who injected further hotels into the portfolio. John Brennan became non-executive chairman of Amaris and Peter Stack their managing director.[9]
