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| Share Name | Share Symbol | Market | Stock Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thistle Hotels | THO | London | Ordinary Share |
| Price Change | Price Change % | Share Price | Last Trade
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00 | 0.00% | - |
| Open Price | Low Price | High Price | Close Price | Previous Close |
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| Top Posts |
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Posted at 15/4/2003 17:43 by ttg100 15 April 2003Thistle offers investors cash to shun BIL, talks ongoing Thistle Hotels says it will return 50p a share, or around £241m, to investors if they reject a £555m hostile bid from major stakeholder BIL International. In its first defence document, published yesterday, Thistle describes BIL's 115p a share offer as 'wholly inadequate' and maintains the Singaporean investment company is trying to buy the company 'on the cheap at a low point in the cycle'. Thistle argues that once its £367m cash pile has been stripped out, the offer prices its hotels at a 70% discount to net asset valuation. But BIL, which currently holds a 45.8% stake in Thistle, claims hotel asset values have declined as the industry suffers from the effects of the economic downturn and the Iraq war. In a statement it said: 'Geopolitical risk and global economic uncertainty are greater now than in the early 1990s and any recovery could take even longer...And we don't believe Thistle is currently positioned to derive the full benefit from any upturn.' However, Thistle chief executive, Ian Burke, insists property values, particularly in London, have held firm. He adds that the group has 'received approaches from a number parties regarding potential alternative transactions, including possible competing offers for the company and the disposal of certain hotels assets'. Thistle has recently tried to sell a package of six hotels, including the five-star Royal Horseguards and the Thistle Tower, to date without success. The hotel group's shares, down from 150p a year ago, rallied 2p to 118.5p Monday. >>oldtown - never do either - trade these(at moment no position) but post any info on here i find fwiw to others |
Posted at 02/2/2003 12:22 by ainsoph Banks call in Ernst & Young to check out Thistle HotelsBy Lauren Mills and Damian Reece (Filed: 02/02/2003) Thistle Hotels' bankers, led by the Royal Bank of Scotland, have hired Ernst & Young to carry out a review of the business which could lead to sweeping management changes and disposals at the hotels group. Although Thistle has around £320m in the bank, the banks are thought to be alarmed at the group's precarious trading position. They are also said to be questioning the ability of the management to steer the company through a period of uncertainty in the market. In January, Thistle revealed a 10.5 per cent drop in average room rates in London last year. It also refused to give details of how it planned to spend the cash raised through the disposal of 31 regional hotels to Orb Estates last March for £600m. As part of the deal, Thistle retained management contracts to run the hotels. The group also admitted it would be difficult to forecast turnover for 2003 because it remained "cautious as to when there will be a recovery in general hotel trading conditions". Ernst & Young is expected to report back to the banks on the company's overall financial strength within the next two weeks. E&Y is likely to focus on current trading, as well as prospects for improving performance in a relentlessly difficult market. The accountancy firm will also advise the banks on a range of strategic options including further disposals. Thistle's shares rallied 9p to 98p at the end of last week after Investec Securities cited "corporate activity" as a reason for taking the stock off its "sell" list. Ian Burke, the chief executive, is under mounting pressure to clarify whether he plans to return the cash to shareholders or spend it on acquisitions. His indecision is causing friction among Thistle's leading institutional shareholders who hold differing views about what should be done with the cash. The two biggest shareholders, each of which has a seat on the board, are BIL International, which owns 45.8 per cent, and the Government of Singapore which has a 13.1 per cent stake. Other large investors include Havelock Investments and Tweedy Brown Company. A spokesman for the company insisted it knew nothing of E&Y's review. He also confirmed that Burke would update the City with a strategic plan for the group when it announces its year-end results in early March. |
Posted at 20/1/2003 00:11 by ainsoph 17.01.03 :+0, (108) positive broker comments following yesterday's trading statement, dealers said. In a note published this morning, UBS Warburg upgraded the shares to 'buy' from 'hold', arguing that the shares now look inexpensive if investors are prepared to look through the risk of any conflict in the Gulf. The broker pointed out that the company's end of year trading update indicated, as expected, that H2 was a period of rising occupancies but a fall in AARR (annualised average room rate), due to promotions and tactical room rate promotions. UBS Warburg added that since the sale of its provincial hotels in March 2002, the company's shares have slipped around 28% and the group's enterprise value has fallen nearly 35 pct, which is a worse performance than any of the mid-cap hotel companies with the exception of Millennium & Copthorne. The fall of all UK hotel company shares due to prolonged poor trading would logically suggest that asset values are overstated. However, recent transactions from Jarvis Hotels and Hilton Group at net asset value suggest that this is not the case, although it remains cautious. Deutsche Bank are also positive on the stock and repeat their 'buy' recommendation on the stock with a 170 pence target. |
Posted at 16/1/2003 23:16 by ainsoph TimesJanuary 17, 2003 Thistle facing investor pressure By Dominic Walsh PRESSURE is mounting on Thistle Hotels to return up to £200 million to shareholders amid growing speculation that it has failed to identify any suitable acquisition targets. The group, London's biggest hotel operator, has about £370 million of cash on its balance sheet after last year's sale of 37 of its 55 hotels to Orb Estates for £600 million. At the time, it said it would return cash to investors only if it was unable to spend it on expansion. In a trading update yesterday, covering the year to December 29, Thistle made no reference to the matter and Ian Burke, group chief executive, said the statement was "not the appropriate time to be making comments on strategy". Analysts expressed disappointment at the lack of any news. One said: "This is not the market for buying hotels and it is clear there are no acquisitions in the pipeline. If there is still no news in March (when Thistle reports full-year results), investors will justifiably start to get annoyed." Thistle yesterday reported a big upturn in room occupancy in the second half of 2002 but admitted this had been at the expense of room rate. It said revenue per available room (revpar) was £58.36, up 2.7 per cent on the same period the year before, and 5.4 per cent higher than the first half of the year. Revpar for 2002 as a whole fell 6.8 per cent to £56.81, with occupancy up 2.6 points to 76.2 per cent and the room rate 10 per cent lower at £74.56. Mr Burke said that, given the uncertain economic and political outlook, it was still too early to determine when the recovery would come. "There are very few people in any sector who are making any forecasts." He confirmed that Thistle was still pursuing a legal claim against Orb Estates for £15 million of the £600 million it had failed to pay by the due date, adding that the property firm had until today to respond to the hotel group's claim. Orb has previously indicated an intention to lodge a counterclaim for £45 million, the amount it claims it overpaid because of erroneous trading information provided by Thistle. Orb, which has withdrawn plans to launch a takeover bid for Thistle, is also at the centre of a scandal involving Izodia, the failed dot-com venture, where money is alleged to have been fraudulently removed |
Posted at 16/1/2003 20:50 by ainsoph 'Although the in-line results were to be welcomed, analysts maintained that Thistle only managed to achieve its 2002 targets due to heavy discounting at its hotels, the majority of which are based in London. The average room rate fell 8.7% in 2002 as a result of changes in business mix with fewer business travellers, combined with a number of tactical room rate reductions, said Thistle. "We are concerned as to the company's ability to swiftly recover average room rates," said WestLB, which repeated its 'underperform' recommendation in the wake of the trading update. The German broker explained that it will hard for Thistle to force through significant room rate rises in 2003, due to the cut throat nature of the London hotel market and its "limited brand strength" in the capital. As a result, WestLB said it was unlikely that Thistle would experience a "significant recovery in trading" prior to 2004. CAI Cheuvreux agreed that Thistle's trading statement provided confirmation that the "trading picture is not good". However, the French broker retained its 'outperform' rating on the stock due to the strong likelihood that Thistle will either be gobbled up by a larger rival, or return a sizeable portion of its 350m cash pile to investors. "The company is now very much in play. In the absence of any corporate activity, the company will be forced to announce what it intends to do with its large cash pile," said Cheuvreux in a note to clients this morning. The broker reckons that a takeover of Thistle is a distinct possibility, given that BIL International Ltd, Thistle's majority shareholder with a 46% holding, is believed to be a "willing seller". Apart from its healthy bank balance and BIL's willingness to sell, Thistle's other chief attraction is its leading position in the London hotel market -- it has 13% of the city's room-stock -- making it an ideal target for any group wanting to get a strong foothold in the capital. |
Posted at 03/11/2002 09:56 by ainsoph November 03, 2002 Jersey investors move in on Thistle hotel chain John Waples S Times ORB ESTATES, a Jersey-based investment company, is close to acquiring majority control of Thistle Hotels, one of Britain's biggest hotel chains. It is negotiating to buy a 46% stake held in the group by BIL International, a company listed in Singapore. Analysts believe if Orb buys the shares it could trigger a takeover or a management buyout led by Ian Burke, Thistle's chief executive. Under takeover rules, a bidder that acquires a stake greater than 30% must make a bid for the company. Shares in Thistle climbed 10% on Friday to close at 129Åp, valuing it at £625m. Orb has a close relationship with Thistle. Earlier this year it bought 37 of its 58 hotels in a leaseback deal worth £600m. Orb, which has a group of high-net-worth individual backers, is keen to maximise value from the Thistle estate and has already submitted a planning application to convert two London hotels into upmarket flats. BIL, whose president is New Zealand entrepreneur Sir Ron Brierley, has been keen to sell its stake for some time but has failed to agree a price. Four years ago it received a £1.5 billion takeover approach from Nomura, the Japanese bank, which was rejected. But since then the hotelier has struggled. Following the September 11 attacks, its market value slumped as low as £390m. Orb, headed by Sam Nolan, became involved with Thistle in August last year when it paid £7m for a 70-room hotel in Poole, Dorset. Since then its profile has grown and more recently it has become involved in a bid for Izodia, a failed software company whose biggest asset is a £33m cash pile. It is thought both BIL and Orb are close to finalising terms |
Posted at 04/9/2002 07:52 by ainsoph Thistle Hotels INVESTORS in Thistle Hotels want three questions answered. When will there be a recovery? What is BIL, the 46 per cent shareholder, up to? And, most crucially, what is Thistle going to do with the £600 million pocketed from the recent sale of hotel property assets? Unfortunately, Ian Burke, the chief executive, was unable to answer these questions yesterday. The recovery issue is an easy one to dodge as nobody knows how the current uncertainty will play out. Thistle profits fell 44 per cent in the first half and although trading has picked up it is still too early to start making predictions, as the Hilton experience showed last week. The question of BIL's intentions is even more opaque. Impending changes in the ownership of a large chunk of BIL shares has prompted speculation that someone could use the situation to grab backdoor control of Thistle despite denials by the New Zealand-based investor that it has put shares up for sale. The hottest question is whether Thistle is going to return some of its £600 million windfall to investors. Despite his silence on the matter, pressure is mounting on Mr Burke. The chances of finding a suitable purchase at a decent price are slim but that is an option Mr Burke appears to want to pursue, although investors may prefer to see the cash returned to them. Shares - up 7p to 127½p - trade on a chunky p/e ratio of 23. But despite the uncertain outlook and fears of another Gulf war, that multiple should fall sharply over the next couple of years. The net asset value of 220p, meanwhile, which is supported by the recent sale, provides further comfort. Hold. tempus |
Posted at 04/9/2002 07:50 by ainsoph Keep a hold of Thistle with care INDY As conundrums go, how to spend a spare £365m knocking around in your bank account isn't a bad one. But unless Thistle Hotels solves this particular puzzle soon its already weary investors are going to lose what little patience they still have with the stock. Not that Ian Burke, the chief executive of London's largest hotelier, was shedding any light on the subject yesterday. But after raising the funds five months ago via a sale-and-management deal involving 37 properties, he has numerous options. He could return the cash to shareholders, spearhead a drive into Europe or buy a second UK brand. He could even have raised the interim dividend. That he did nothing rekindled speculation that something was afoot. Like a management buyout. The issue with Thistle is that there is always something afoot. Will its largest shareholders, BIL International and the Singapore government tire of their underperforming investment and sell up? Will it ever realise the underlying value of its estate, worth £1bn but down to just 18 owned properties from 56 after the March deal? And will it ever venture further afield than the British Isles? Nobody knows. Shareholders should hang on for an upturn in its London market if nothing else. Trading improved in July and August and sound management skills kept the decline in the half-year to 14 July in line. Pre-tax profits were £57.9m, boosted by £42.3m of exceptionals from profit on disposals, against £29.4m last time. At 127.5p the shares are expensive, but worth holding. |
Posted at 13/3/2002 07:52 by ainsoph Thistle agrees sale of 37 hotels for £600mBy Tobias Buck in London and John Burton in Singapore Published: March 12 2002 10:54 | Last Updated: March 12 2002 18:31 FT Thistle Hotels, under mounting pressure from its investors to improve returns, on Tuesday sold 37 of its 52 hotels to a property group, for £600m. The deal with Orb Estates, a small London-based property company, will leave Thistle in charge of managing the hotels for a period of 30 years. In return, Orb will pay Thistle a management fee estimated to be worth £7m-£8m per year. Analysts applauded the deal, arguing Thistle had done well to obtain a price very close to the book value of the properties. However, there was also disappointment that the group did not announce that it would return any of the proceeds to shareholders. Thistle's shares closed 8 per cent higher at 150p. They have for some time traded at a significant discount to the stated net asset value of 240p, highlighting concerns that the group was not extracting enough value for shareholders. Ian Burke, chief executive, said: "The deal reduces the capital intensity of our business. We are now more of a hotel manager than a hotel owner." Mr Burke said the group would use the proceeds to pay down £174m of debts. He would not comment on his plans on how to use the remaining cash; but would rule out either an acquisition or returning money to shareholders. Tuesday's deal will have provided particular relief to Thistle's largest shareholder, BIL International, based in Singapore, which holds 46 per cent of the group's shares. Analysts in Singapore interpreted the sale as an effort by BIL International to improve its standing with investors. "BIL needs to restructure its portfolio and unlock shareholder value to attract investors," said an analyst. Thistle is BIL's single biggest investment and speculation that it might sell its 46 stake caused its share price to rise sharply. Thistle was advised by Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank. |
Posted at 05/3/2002 00:32 by ainsoph LONDON (AFX) - Shares in Thistle Hotels PLC were higher in midday trade as investors warmed to the hotel group's in-line full year results and news that it is in discussions with a third party for a possible transaction -- with weekend press suggesting a sale of 500 mln stg of its assets, dealers said. In the year to Dec 30 2001, the group made a pretax profit before exceptionals of 45.5 mln stg, down from 67 mln and compared with expectations in the range of 42-48 mln. Ongoing tough industry conditions have hit current trading with turnover in the first eight weeks of 2002 down 10 pct year-on-year, but analysts at Deutsche Bank pointed out this is no worse than expected. The German broker noted that press speculation suggests the third party talks could lead to a substantial sale of the provincial hotel portfolio with total proceeds of as much as 500 mln stg. A successful deal could push the stock 20-30 pence higher and would make the hotel group virtually ungeared -- leading to significant capital reduction or an expansionary strategy, the broker said. Moreover, Deutsche Bank believes such a deal would also be a positive for other hotel stocks, such as Hilton Group PLC, Whitbread PLC, Millenium & Copthorne PLC and Queens Moat Houses PLC. Schroder Salomon is less upbeat about the "possible transaction" which Thistle said would be in order to "improve and rebalance our hotel portfolio". It said the deal sounds more like a banking transaction which, with a relatively strong balance sheet anyway, may not add the value that the market might think. It reiterates its 'underperform' rating. Meanwhile, analysts at Merrill said they recognise the potential for the London market in particular to bounce back either later this year or during 2003 and therefore keeps their forecasts for this year and next, which are some 5-6 pct above consensus. They repeats their 'neutral' stance but warn that future cash EPS may be affected by any catch-up maintenance capex that becomes necessary. At 12.00 pm shares in Thistle Hotels were up 3-1/2 at 136-1/2. |
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