A Change Of Owner For The Le Méridien King Edward | Starman Hotels has sold the Le Méridien King Edward in Toronto, Canada, to Skyline Executive Acquisitions, a unit of Canadian property developer Skyline International Development. The 298-room hotel was purchased as a fee simple sale for a reported C$48 million.

Fantastic Four For Scandic | Stockholm-based Scandic has increased its portfolio in Finland this week to 28 properties by signing an agreement to acquire four hotels from Finnish group Next Hotels Finland Oy. The deal includes three existing properties and one proposed hotel all in south Finland: the 89-room NEXT Hotel Linnea, in the town of Riihimäki; the 106-room NEXT Hotel Rivoli, in the town of Järvenpää; the Best Western NEXT Hotel Salpaus, in the town of Lahti; and the Scandic Paasi, which is to be built in conjunction with the Paasitorni Congress Centre in Helsinki and is expected to open in 2011 as Scandic number five for the Finnish capital.

Three Musketeers For Travelodge | Three existing hotels in the UK are to become part of the Travelodge family. The UK budget hotel company has invested £14 million in the properties and they have all undergone a refurbishment to bring them in line with the Travelodge brand. The 104-room York Micklegate Ramada, in the city of York in the north of England, is now operating as the York Central Micklegate Travelodge and the 70-room Best Western Stansted Manor Hotel, near Stansted Airport north of London, is now the Bishops Stortford Travelodge. A former independent hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland, is to open soon as the Edinburgh Central Rose Street Travelodge.

Gresham Hotel Group To Leave London and A New Owner For The New Northumbria | Irish-owned and managed Gresham Hotel Group, previously Ryan Hotel Group, is to sell its London property. The group, which currently has five hotels across Europe, has put the freehold, 188-room Park Inn Hyde Park on the market for offers in excess of £35 million. A private investor has purchased the New Northumbria Hotel, in the city of Newcastle, northeast England, for a rumoured £6 million. The 57-room hotel, formerly a WG Mitchell property, was sold by administrators Ernst & Young.

Hilton Heads To Norway | Hilton Worldwide has signed a multiyear franchise agreement with Prague-based private hotel-ownership company Key Hotels Group for the Doubletree by Hilton, Oslo-City Centre. The hotel is expected to open this spring and it will be Hilton’s first property in Norway and the first Doubletree by Hilton hotel in Scandinavia. The hotel will open with 59 rooms but an ongoing refurbishment will result in the addition of another 44 rooms by the end of 2010.

Marriott To Multiply In Europe | Marriott International has announced its European expansion plans this week. The US-based company currently has 174 hotels in Europe with a total of 40,000 rooms and it plans to double its presence on the continent by increasing its portfolio to 80,000 rooms by 2015. Marriott’s European hotels currently operate under seven of its 18 brands and the expansion will see the introduction of two more brands to Europe: Edition and the Autograph Collection.

Taking It Easy In Berlin | Stelios Haji-Ioannou’s budget hotel brand easyhotel made its debut in Germany this week with the opening of its 12th property the 125-room easyhotel Berlin, Hackescher Markt in Berlin. A total of €6.5 million was invested in the hotel, which is owned by Nippon Development Corporation Real Estate Management GmbH. Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ Sheraton brand is to make its debut in Germany’s capital city. Starwood and its joint venture partner Arabella Hospitality Group have a signed a lease contract with development company Chamartín Meermann Immobilien for a 464-room property near Berlin Central Railway Station. Construction on the project, which also includes a conference centre, is expected to start in autumn 2010 and the hotel is to open in 2012.

A Capital New Fund For Blumberg | US-based investment management company Blumberg Capital Partners has announced that it has launched a new fund which is aimed at capitalising on distressed properties in the US, Brazil and the Gulf region. The US$1 billion Blumberg Capital Partners Strategic Asset Fund is the group’s third fund but its first to be open to investors outside of the USA. A third of the fund is to be allocated to possible investment in the Gulf.

InterContinental Hotels Group Gets Set To Stay In Saudi Arabia | InterContinental Hotels Group and Al Hokair Group have got together to sign a franchise agreement which will result in the development of the first Staybridge Suites property in Saudi Arabia. The 106-unit Staybridge Suites Riyadh Olaya is expected to open in February 2011 in Riyadh.

A New Hilton To Take Flight In Egypt | Hilton Worldwide has signed a management contract with High for Touristic Projects, part of Cairo-based Egyptian Engineers Contracting And Housing, for a new hotel in Egypt. The Hilton Heliopolis is expected to open in 2014, with 485 rooms and 150 apartments, as part of a mixed-used complex adjacent to Cairo International Airport.

Interval and Marriott In Agreement | Worldwide provider of timeshare services Interval International and Marriott Vacation Club, Marriott International’s timeshare division, first joined hands in 1990 when they established their master affiliation agreement. Now, two decades later, they have renewed this agreement and will continue to provide each other with both internal and external holiday exchange services.

Changes For Scandic | Come autumn 2010 Scandic will have a brand new chief executive officer. Frank Fiskers, the man currently at the helm of Scandic’s ship, is to leave the company at the end of summer to join hotel investment group Azure Properties as a partner. However, Mr Fiskers, who joined Scandic in 2007, is to join Scandic’s Board of Directors and will still be an investor in the company.

Gladen’s Tidings | The news from Spain by Esther Gladen, HVS Madrid. The Catalan group H10 opened its first hotel in London: the four-star, 177-room H10 London Waterloo, which is a new build situated on Waterloo Road. Spanish real estate company Metrovacesa has put three hotels up for sale in order to improve its liquidity in the current difficult economic climate. The assets are the Hotel Husa Paseo del Arte, the Hotel Husa Moncloa and the Hotel Husa Princesa, which are all in the city of Madrid. Spanish asset management company Grupo Edificios Onix stepped into the Spanish hotel market by creating a management company and planning a four-star, 230-room hotel in Madrid, which is to focus on the congress segment. The group also bought the three-star Hotel NH La Maquinista in Barcelona (from Metrovacesa) and a plot for another hotel in Barcelona.

About HVS
HVS is the world's leading consulting and services organization focused on the hotel, restaurant, shared ownership, gaming and leisure industries. Founded in 1980, the company performs more than 2,000 assignments each year for virtually every major industry participant. HVS principals are regarded as the leading professionals in their respective regions of the globe. HVS is client-driven, entrepreneurial, and dedicated to providing the best advice and services in a timely and cost-efficient manner. Through a worldwide network of more than 30 offices and 400 seasoned industry professionals around the world, HVS provides and unparalleled range of complementary services for the hospitality industry.