The Malmaison and Hotel du Vin chief, Richard Balfour-Lynn, won a hard-fought takeover battle yesterday for De Vere, the operator of the Belfry golfing hotel, after agreeing an increased offer of £767.4m which prompted the private-equity firm Permira to pull out. Mr Balfour-Lynn's investment vehicle, Alternative Hotels Group, twice raised its cash offer from an original price of 825p a share to 850p last week and 875p yesterday.

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