Thistle Hotels Share Discussion Threads

[ainsoph] 05/3/2002 07:50

March 05, 2002

Morgan Stanley 'handles Thistle securitisation'
By Dominic Walsh



MORGAN STANLEY, the US investment bank, is understood to be handling a proposed securitisation of up to £500 million of hotel assets operated by Thistle Hotels.
Thistle, which runs 56 hotels, including London's Tower and Royal Horseguards, yesterday accompanied its full-year results with confirmation that it was "in discussions with a third party about a possible material transaction" as part of a plan to "improve and rebalance our hotel portfolio". Its shares rose 6p to 139p. The company was responding to a story in The Times that suggested it was in advanced talks over the sale of its 33 regional hotels and a small number of London hotels to a property investment company in a deal allowing Thistle to retain management control.

City sources believe that Orb Estates, based in Jersey, is the property company involved and that Morgan Stanley is lined up to handle what would be the biggest securitisation in the hotel sector. The US bank has long been top of the European securitisation league table, with one of its most recent deals being a £331 million securitisation for Marks & Spencer last December.

Thistle yesterday reported a 32 per cent fall in 2001 pre-tax profits before exceptionals to £45.5 million from turnover down 5.9 per cent to £305.3 million, mainly because of the impact of September 11. Adjusted earnings per share fell to 7.6p (11.1p). A final dividend of 3.4p makes an unchanged total of 5.1p. Trading improved in 2002's first eight weeks

[ainsoph] 05/3/2002 00:32

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.

[ainsoph] 04/3/2002 08:29

08:12, Mon 4 March 2002
Merrill checks out hotels
Merrill Lynch believes the hotel sub-sector remains undervalued on a 12-month view. However, it says the next phase will be marked by a greater distinction between the weak and the strong.

The broker reiterates its intermediate buy/long-term strong buy for Six Continents (SXC) and is raising its forecasts for Hilton Group (HG.) by 4% to 5% this year and next.

Merrill believes Millennium & Copthorne (MLC) continues to look particularly exposed on valuation grounds and is unattractive.

The broker has neutral stances on Queens Moat (QMOT) and Jarvis (JVH).


©2002 citywire.co.uk

[ainsoph] 04/3/2002 08:24

LONDON (AFX) - Thistle Hotels PLC reported full year pretax profit within market expectations and said it is in discussions with a third party for a possible material transaction.
Chairman David Newbigging said that at the time of Thistle's interim announcement he indicated that the group was evaluating opportunities to improve and rebalance the group's hotel portfolio. "We have been actively exploring such opportunities and we are in discussions with a third party about a possible material transaction," he 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.

After exceptionals, pretax profit was 49.1 mln stg, down from 68.2 mln stg. Turnover for the year was 305.3 mln stg, down from 324.6 mln and EBITDA was 115.5 mln stg compared with 134.7 mln.

The group said revenue per available room (Revpar) in London and and the group's regional hotels outperformed the market during the year at 50.56 stg, although this was a reduction from the previous year's Revpar of 53.43 stg.

As expected, tough industry conditions hit trading during the year under review and Thistle said this has continued into the current year with turnover in the first eight weeks of 2002 down 10 pct year-on-year.

Chief executive officer Ian Burke said this included a greater decrease in London against a strong comparative period in the early months of 2001. However, he pointed out that turnover in the first eight weeks of 2001 was broadly in line with the same period in 2000.

"We intend to actively manage our costs, with a focus on reducing our cash operating expenditures and capital expenditures in 2002, as compared to 2001," he added.

The board declared a final dividend of 3.4 pence for a maintained total payout of 5.1 pence.

[ainsoph] 04/3/2002 07:57

Worth saying that actual profits exceeded analysts highest estimates by well over a £ million


ainsoph

[ainsoph] 04/3/2002 07:52

Guess the press have not understood that the 11/09 situation is already in the share price and effects are evaporating quickly

Some peeps live and talk in the past ....... very sad


ainsoph



03/04 07:17
Thistle Hotels Full-Year Profit Falls 27%, Hurt by Sept. 11
By Candace Carpenter


London, March 4 (Bloomberg) -- Thistle Hotels Plc, a U.K. operator of four-star hotels, said profit dropped 27 percent last year as fewer travelers stayed at its London properties following the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Net income fell to 40.1 million pounds ($57 million), or 8.3 pence a share, from 54.8 million pounds, or 11.4p, the previous year. Revenue per room slipped to 50.56 pounds from 53.43 in 2000.

``Over the first eight weeks of the current financial year, turnover was down some 10 percent on the comparative period last year, with a greater decrease in London against a strong comparative period in the early months of 2001,'' Chairman David Newbigging said in a Regulatory News Service statement.

Thistle joins other European hoteliers in reporting slowing sales after the Sept. 11 attacks compounded a slowdown from foot- and-mouth livestock disease and abating U.S. economic growth. International tourism fell 6 percent in Europe between September and December, according to the World Tourism Organization.

[ainsoph] 04/3/2002 07:46

Results and statement look okay - M+A looks promising. Would expect the journey north to continue


ainsoph

[the oregon red bear] 04/3/2002 02:11

Very funny, usedbook.
I thought by now KDC would be dead in the water-probably is just about,but he keeps bobbing up for breath.
God what a dreadful punter he is- Ive just been having a laugh at the Marconi66
thread,all sorts of talk about 'lines in the sand',just before his line was washed away by a tidal wave of selling.
The Mr Bean of the bb's? No,at least Bean is funny.
I do like the Carlsberg line....but Colonel Kolonic is just perfect.

CASH IS KING



RED

[ainsop h] 03/3/2002 21:16

i am skint

[ainsoph] 03/3/2002 20:21

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ........... I guess you know what you are talking about dirty book but doesn't sound like anything to do with Thistle hotels.


Just wish I could attract a better class of stalker .............



ainsoph

[usedbook] 03/3/2002 19:47

Good news comes in threes...I'll have to remember that, especially since it comes from the great kentucky fryer who gave us such immortal lines as-

BT @ 9 bucks...'cant go any lower'
aTADslippyPOLE......'will be a world class company'


One is reminded of that Carlsberg ad...'probably the worst investor in the world'.

Then again, at least Carlsberg is wet.

[ainsoph] 03/3/2002 10:00

see FBB for other recent comment

ainsoph



March 03, 2002

Share of the week Sunday Times



SHARES in Thistle Hotels have risen sharply on hopes that it may raise more than £400m from the sale of a portfolio of London and regional hotel assets. An American institution made an approach to Thistle earlier this year but talks have since petered out. However, another company has stepped forward and there is speculation it could be Orb Estates, a small property company, which intends to securitise the portfolio. Thistle, which is due to report full-year figures this week, has been looking at various ways to release equity in its £1.3 billion estate. Thistle's big investor is BIL International, a company listed in New Zealand that owns a 46% stake and is represented on the board.

[ainsoph] 03/3/2002 09:58

Like buses on a rainy day ........ good news always comes along in three's


ainsoph



March 03, 2002

Share of the week - Sunday Times



SHARES in Thistle Hotels have risen sharply on hopes that it may raise more than £400m from the sale of a portfolio of London and regional hotel assets. An American institution made an approach to Thistle earlier this year but talks have since petered out. However, another company has stepped forward and there is speculation it could be Orb Estates, a small property company, which intends to securitise the portfolio. Thistle, which is due to report full-year figures this week, has been looking at various ways to release equity in its £1.3 billion estate. Thistle's big investor is BIL International, a company listed in New Zealand that owns a 46% stake and is represented on the board.

[ainsoph] 02/3/2002 10:44

Looking promising

ainsoph





March 02, 2002

Thistle in talks on £500m sale
By Dominic Walsh - Times



THISTLE HOTELS, London's biggest hotel operator, is in advanced talks over the sale of about £500 million of assets in a move that could presage the hotel industry's biggest securitisation.
The group, which refused to comment last night, is thought to be discussing a deal that would mean the sale of its entire portfolio of 33 regional hotels together with up to half a dozen of its bottom-end London hotels, including the London Ryan and Bloomsbury Park.

Although Thistle has a history of returning cash to shareholders, there are suggestions that Ian Burke, the group's well-regarded chief executive, may be given the opportunity to invest the proceeds in expanding the business, possibly involving its first move into continental Europe.

In recent weeks, there have been indications that Thistle was considering a sale and leaseback, mirroring moves last year by Hilton Group and Méridien Hotels. However, well-placed sources believe the mooted deal involves the sale of the properties to a financial institution, with Thistle retaining management control.

The unnamed institution is understood to be keen to follow a deal by securitising the properties, a method of debt financing that has become popular in the leased pub sector but has been rarely applied to the hotel sector with its less reliable cashflows.

One of the few successful securitisations in the hotel sector was completed in 1999 by Alchemy Partners, the venture capitalist, as part of a refinancing of its private Paramount Hotels business. The £52 million securitisation of eight Paramount properties was executed by Greenwich NatWest.

It is understood that Thistle, which owns 22 hotels in London, including the Tower and Royal Horseguards, was hoping to complete the deal in time for its full-year results on Monday. However, City sources believe the timetable for an announcement has slipped.

Some form of reshaping of the group has been expected ever since a proposed £1.7 billion takeover led by Guy Hands, the Nomura financier, failed in 1998. BIL, the New Zealand investment group that owns 46 per cent of the shares, is known to have been seeking alternative ways of realising its investment. It recently appointed a new finance director while Arun Amarsi, a senior BIL executive, became a non-executive director.

Although Thistle has undergone a £200 million refurbishment over the past three years, the benefits of the Thistle brand have yet to be proved and observers believe that the proposed deal could result in Mr Burke seeking to put an international flag on some of its 22 London hotels. Turnover in its London hotels was down by 9.8 per cent last year.

Chris Rouse, director of Insignia Hotels, the property consultancy, said: "The very positive market reaction to the Hilton and Méridien sale and leasebacks last year, together with returning confidence after the events of September 11, leads us to believe that hotel companies with significant property assets will actively be looking at the opportunity to liberate those assets to finance development or return value to shareholders."

Shares of Thistle have risen from 110p to 133p since the beginning of February amid whispers of a deal.

[ainsoph] 28/2/2002 13:05

edging up again this morning with several big buys going through - 760K traded


ainsoph

[ainsoph] 27/2/2002 10:54

Several brokers have been saying good things on the sector over recent days - talk of more visitors from US etc plus greater room occupancy through promotion

shares have responded by moving up nearly 20% over the last two weeks - currently 130/133p plus 4% intraday on volume of 282K


ainsoph

[ainsoph] 19/2/2002 08:46

Market gossips reckon that Thistle Hotels is working on plans to revive its share price, with a deal under consideration to sell some of its 22 London properties for £430m, The Guardian reported. Thistle refused to comment on the speculation but sources close to the company admit it had considered this option but concluded it would not generate shareholder value. At last night's closing level of 112p, Thistle had a market capitalisation of £539m.

[olbeoo] 25/1/2002 00:26

ainsoph=kdc, on your cycle

[ainsoph] 25/1/2002 00:24

I am happy to hold a chunk - good owner discounts and they are at the bottom of the cycle. Looking for a dip to add a few as long term funds become available


ainsoph

[burrmj] 25/1/2002 00:06

i would sell tho if you have not already done so and leave for 6 months or so, buy in again then at about 75p i guess.

[ainsoph] 23/1/2002 20:17

ABN said hotel groups will have to contend with weak earnings until at least 2003. This makes their current valuations -- following a period a strong outperformance -- look very rich, according to the broker. "Share prices are discounting a faster recovery than this, and we struggle to see any obvious value at the present time," said ABN. It downgraded Millennium & Copthorne Hotels to 'sell' from 'hold' and Thistle Hotels to 'sell' from 'reduce'. It upgraded De Vere Group to 'buy' from 'add' and Spain's Sol Melia SA to 'add' from 'hold'. Meanwhile, it repeated its 'add' on Whitbread Holdings, and its 'sell' on France's Accor SA. It said contract caterer Compass Group remains its overall top pick in the leisure sector, and repeated its 'buy' rating. "It is one of only two global players and is currently taking more than its share of this fast growing market," it said.