Ennismore, the London-based hospitality real estate group and developer of unique properties around the world including The Hoxton, has announced a major expansion with the acquisition of the famous Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland. The price has not been disclosed.
Gleneagles and its associated facilities in Perthshire is being acquired from Diageo. Gleneagles Hotel was opened in 1924 and has been wholly owned by Diageo since 1984. In the year ended 30 June 2014 the business generated revenues of £43.5 million and an operating profit of £2.6 million with a return on invested capital of 4% based on book value for the year ended 30 June 2014.
Ivan Menezes, Chief Executive, commented: “Diageo is proud to have been the owner of Gleneagles but the hotel is not a core business for us and therefore following the success of the Ryder Cup we feel this is an appropriate time to realise value through this transaction. I am pleased that Diageo’s brands, especially our scotch brands, will continue to be an important feature at this iconic Scottish hotel. We wish Ennismore and all the staff at the hotel a successful future.”
Standalone business
Sharan Pasricha, founder and Chief Executive of Ennismore, said:
“We are delighted to be acquiring the iconic Gleneagles Hotel, which is one of the world’s most prestigious and recognisable venues. We plan to operate Gleneagles as a standalone business – alongside The Hoxton – to ensure that its management team can preserve the special appeal of this Scottish landmark.”
The acquisition – effected by a private investment group led by Ennismore – follows several months of talks with Diageo, which has developed Gleneagles into a premier destination for golf enthusiasts and visitors from around the world. In 2005 the resort hosted the G8 summit, and in 2014 it hosted the Ryder Cup, the European-US competition that attracted more than 250,000 visitors and a global television audience.
Retaining and building on the Gleneagles’ culture
Ennismore will retain the existing Gleneagles management and workforce, ensuring that Gleneagles continues to play a major part in the local economy in Perthshire and the wider Scottish tourism industry. Furthermore, the new owners are committed to investing significant sums across the estate to build on the resort’s reputation for excellence.
Mr Pasricha also pledged that the distinct Gleneagles culture, service and brand proposition would be preserved by Ennismore. “We will be proud guardians of this asset, ensuring that the service-levels and visitor experience for which Gleneagles is renowned are preserved and enhanced in the years to come.”
Ennismore’s expansion
The acquisition coincides with the next phase of Ennismore’s international expansion, involving the opening of its new hotel: The Hoxton, Amsterdam. The Dutch site will be followed by Williamsburg, New York (2016), Paris (2017) and London, Southwark (2017).
Diageo will continue to have a relationship with Gleneagles which will see its brands, particularly its world-leading Scotch Whisky brands, continuing to be showcased at the luxury hotel.
About Ennismore
Ennismore (Ennismore.com) is a London-based hospitality real estate group that develops unique properties and experiences across the world. Ennismore currently operates The Hoxton (http://www.thehoxton.com), a series of hotels with its origins in Shoreditch, East London.
The Hoxton has two operating hotels in London, in Shoreditch and Holborn. Each hotel has approximately 200 bedrooms, and large, active public areas providing a place for locals and hotel guests alike. It also curates Hoxtown (www.hoxtown.com) a monthly calendar of bespoke events, neighbourhood guides and a content platform that cuts across arts, fashion, tech, music and film.
Ennismore partners with leaders in their fields, and its strength lies in its ability to identify fresh talent within the hotel, development, food & beverage and retail communities with which to work. Its F&B partners include Soho House & Co, Grind Group and Breddos while Development Partners include Sydell Group, Derwent London and Aedes Real Estate.
Ennismore also operates a standalone restaurant division outside The Hoxton, with three new openings planned for 2015. This includes a joint venture with Soho House for two standalone restaurants, including ‘Egg Break’ opening in Notting Hill this week.
The Hoxton is expanding rapidly and is committed to projects with a gross development value of over £500m, managed directly by Ennismore. The group’s first international hotel, The Hoxton, Amsterdam opens to the public in July 2015 with further acquired sites under construction and development in New York (2016), Paris (2017) and London, Southwark (2017).
Ennismore was founded by Sharan Pasricha in 2011.
About The Hoxton
The Hoxton started doing things differently in East London back in 2006, when it opened the doors to The Hoxton, Shoreditch. Labelled the “anti-hotel”, The Hoxton took away things that annoyed people about traditional hotels like expensive mini-bars, water and WiFi and gave them what they wanted at an affordable price. They challenged the status quo amongst traditional hotel models and proved that style didn’t need to be sacrificed for value. That ethos is still very much at the heart of what The Hoxton does today.
The Hoxton doesn’t adopt a cookie-cutter approach to its properties. Each of its hotels is inspired by neighbourhoods they are in and the buildings of which they are part. Its restaurants, bars and retail are run in partnership with Soho House, enjoyed by guests and locals alike. At the heart of its hotels is Hoxtown (hoxtown.com), a monthly calendar of bespoke events, neighborhood guides and a content platform that cuts across arts, fashion, tech, music and film.
Since the acquisition of the Hoxton Shoreditch in 2012, the brand has expanded across Europe and into the US, opening a series of hotels under The Hoxton brand. The Hoxton, Holborn launched in 2014 and was featured in the Conde Nast Traveller Hotlist 2015. Amsterdam is due to open in July 2015, with New York, Paris and London (Southwark) slated to follow in 2016 and 2017.