Acquisition

Park Plaza Hotels Limited 10 April 2008 10 April 2008 Park Plaza Hotels Limited ('Park Plaza' or 'the Company') Acquisition of shareholding in Croatian hotel owner Park Plaza, owner, operator and franchisor of hotels in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, today announces that it has acquired, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Euro Sea Hotels N.V., a 20% stake in WM/DMREF Bora B.V. (Bora) from a group of real estate investment funds sponsored and managed by Goldman Sachs. As part of the transaction, Park Plaza is also acquiring 20% of the debt currently provided to Bora by its shareholders. The total cost of the acquisition, including the debt being acquired, is €22.3 million, which will be funded from Park Plaza's existing cash resources. Bora was formed on 23 July 2007 for the purpose of acquiring a controlling interest in Arenaturist d.d. (Arenaturist), a public company listed on the Zagreb (Croatia) Stock Exchange, and three related private companies. Bora currently owns approximately 74% of Arenaturist and 100% of the three private companies. These companies together own eight hotels and five apartment complexes in and around Pula on the Istrian coast of Croatia. The hotels and apartment complexes currently have approximately 3,000 keys, suites and apartments, and provide accommodation and services primarily for leisure travellers. Arenaturist and the three related companies also operate five island and coastal properties, which are currently used as campsites, and a number of other properties also near Pula. Bora intends to significantly upgrade and refurbish the hotels and apartment resorts. A number of the hotels will be branded Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts and will offer accommodation and services in line with the core values of affordable luxury associated with the brand. There are also plans to enhance and reposition the portfolio through significant investment and possible upgrades to the portfolio's conference and recreation facilities in order to broaden the revenue and target customer base of the properties. In addition to its investment in Bora, Park Plaza and Arenaturist will also enter into an agreement under which the Park Plaza group will manage and operate the portfolio of properties for an initial term of 20 years. As at 31 December 2007, the net asset value of Bora, based on unaudited management accounts was €1.1 million. For the period ended 31 December 2007, based on unaudited management accounts, Bora made a loss of €0.2 million. As at 31 December 2007, the audited net asset value of Arenaturist was €0.7 million. For the year ended 31 December 2007, Arenaturist made an audited profit of €0.5 million. Park Plaza's management believes that Bora's portfolio of properties is well placed to benefit from Croatia's growing status as a popular destination for international travellers. According to the Croatian Ministry of Tourism, the number of international visitors to Croatia almost doubled between 2000 and 2006, with Istria, in which Pula is located, being the most visited area of the country. As a result, there is strong demand for leisure travel accommodation, with opportunities in other segments including business travel. Upscale segment hotels in the country are currently achieving average room rates at European levels, and the pricing environment is expected to benefit from the continuing shortage of available high quality hotel rooms. Lowscale segment hotels experience high levels of seasonal volatility and low occupancy rates for the year as a whole, due to the current industry emphasis on one week summer holidays and insufficient low season offerings. The Bora properties are located in an area with good transport links to large tourist markets, such as Italy, Germany and Austria. In addition, Park Plaza's strategic partnership with Carlson group of companies (Carlson), one of the world's largest travel and hospitality companies, will give Arenaturist's portfolio access to Carlson's reservation and distribution system, partnerships with 19 airlines, loyalty programmes for guests and travel agents, and cross-selling opportunities. Besides Park Plaza, Carlson brands include Regent, Radisson, Country Inn & Suites, Park Inn and Carlson Wagonlit Travel. Carlson's platform, which also supports the cross marketing of nearly 1,000 hotels and resorts in 70 countries provides a powerful tool for marketing the Arenaturist portfolio to a significant database of mid to upscale segment business, leisure and resort travellers. Boris Ivesha, Chief Executive Officer of Park Plaza, said: 'This investment provides an excellent opportunity to capitalise on our expertise in the redevelopment and management of hotel properties and conference centres. Our affiliation with the Carlson hotel and resort network gives us a distinct advantage in the marketing of these properties, which are located in a prime area of outstanding natural beauty that is attracting a growing number of travellers. 'Over the next three to four years, we believe there is a substantial opportunity to increase the value of our investment in Bora and grow the Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts brand by broadening the revenue and target customer base of the Arenaturist properties.' www.parkplazahotels.net Enquiries: Park Plaza Boris Ivesha, Chief Executive Officer Tel: +44 (0)20 7034 4800 Chen Moravsky, Finance Director Tel: +31 (0) 20 305 8351 Hudson Sandler Tel: +44 (0) 20 7796 4133 Jessica Rouleau/Wendy Baker Notes to Editors The Park Plaza group is owner, operator and franchisor of hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The group operates under two brands: Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts (part of Carlson Hotels Worldwide), over which the group has exclusive rights in 56 countries in EMEA and art'otel, a brand to which the Group has exclusive worldwide rights. Park Plaza Hotels also manages the luxury all-suite Plaza on the River - Club and Residence, London. Through its strategic partnership with Carlson, one of the world's largest travel and hospitality companies, Park Plaza Hotels has access to Carlson's powerful reservation and distribution system, airline partnerships with 19 airlines, loyalty programmes such as goldpointsplusSM for guests and Look To Book(R) for travel agents, and cross-selling opportunities. There are currently 26 properties and over 4,700 rooms in the Group's portfolio. By 2010, the Group's committed projects and territorial franchise agreements are expected to increase the number of rooms to over 8,000. Projects already under development include Park Plaza Marrakech (2009), Park Plaza Nuremberg (2009), art'otel cologne (2009) and Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, London (2010). Park Plaza Hotels floated on London's AIM Stock Market in July 2007. END This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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