Hotel group Hilton has put its Birmingham Metropole site up for sale as it completed the £ 382.4 million disposal of 15 hotels around the country.
The company expects to raise another £400 million for the sale of other hotels after clinching yesterday's deal with the Managed Hotels Unit Trust.
The hotels sold, which included locations in Coventry and Bromsgrove, will remain branded as Hilton under long term management agreements for at least the next 30 years.
They are forecast to deliver 2005 earnings of £27.7 million and have a net book value of £341.4 million.
The firm is also in advanced discussions concerning the sale of the Hilton at Edinburgh Airport to the same party.
The deal, which will provide Hilton with an annual income of around £5.4 million per year, has two options to be extended for ten years after that.
Following the high level of market interest in the sale, Hilton International intends to place further hotels on the market with a value in excess of £ 400 million, including the Hilton London Metropole and Hilton Birmingham Metropole.
Proceeds of the sale will initially be used to pay down debt, pending any further announcements relating to talks with its US namesake, the Hilton Hotels Corporation.
