About the Finalists 2009
Rising Star
Citizen M
Promising "a new type of hotel experience for sophisticated travellers", Citizen M offers budget-conscious, style driven rooms. The group opened its first site, at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, in 2008 and plans to roll out the concept to locations in London, Glasgow, Barcelona, Berlin, Milan, Brussels and Copenhagen.
Doubletree by Hilton
Hilton Hotels introduced its Doubletree brand to the UK in Cambridge in April 2008 and plans to have at least 20 Doubletree hotels within its UK estate in the next five to 10 years. The group has also signed deals to take the brand to locations including Russia, Italy, Costa Rica, Thailand and Peru
Indigo
InterContinental Hotels Group Bringing boutique styling to a global business brand, IHG's design-led, limited service Indigo is rapidly expanding in the US, with 30 sites open since its launch in 2004. The brand is now eyeing expansion in Europe and Asia, with hotels in cities including London and Shanghai and more than 60 hotels under development.
Pantin Hotels
David Pantin, former managing director of the Rocco Forte Collection and chairman of Dawnay Shore, has applied his luxury knowledge to two hotels in Leeds. Pantin opened the 35-room The Ellington in 2008, with a restaurant in partnership with Albert Roux and Cuban-style with Floridita. The group is set to open a second hotel in Leeds in 2011, the 84-room The Crispin.
Purple Hotels
The Real Hotel Company's Purple brand has driven the group's expansion in 2008, building a portfolio of 11 sites since its launch at the end of 2007. Real now has a development pipeline of 2,500 rooms for the premium limited service brand, described as a "no frills chic".
Deal of the Year
Premier Inn and Mitchells & Butlers asset swap
Whitbread added 1,245 extra rooms to its Premier Inn budget brand by swapping 44 pub restaurants for 21 Express by Holiday Inn Lodges with Mitchells & Butlers. The deal allowed Whitbread to build its estate, while losing sites where it had been unable to add accommodation.
Arora International £309m acquisition of assets from Airport Property Partnership
The £309m deal with Airport Property Partnership, a joint venture between BAA and Morley, involved 30 assets, plus the agreement to buy three further properties. The deal will bolster the business plans the company has for Heathrow, Gatwick and other UK airports.
Kor Group's 50% sale to Mubadala
The sale of a 50% share in Kor will allow the group to pursue the expansion of The Tides and Viceroy brands in key gateway cities and resort destinations. The new partnership provided Kor not only with investment, but also access to Mubadala's relationships with world-class developers and international capital partners.
Host Hotels & Resorts' c.Eu565m acquisition of six hotels in Europe
The US Reit acquired six hotels through its joint venture in the Netherlands, comprising a total of 1,954 rooms include four sites in Paris, one in Amsterdam and one in Dusseldorf under the Marriott, Renaissance and Courtyard brands, adding to its presence in Europe.
BDL Select Hotels' Paten Hotels buy
The purchase of four sites from Paten was the first deal for BDL's joint venture with Penta Capital and Hamilton Portfolio. The jv is planning to create a portfolio of around 20 mid-market hotels in key locations across the UK.
Single asset deal of the Year
Starwood Hotels & Resorts £55m sale of the Turnberry to Leisurecorp
Starwood's deal with the Dubai World group saw it sign a 50-year agreement to manage the hotel, which after an extensive £30m restoration, will become a member of the group's Luxury Collection portfolio.
Alrov's £90m Café Royal deal
The acquisition of a 125-year lease from The Crown Estate will allow Alrov to develop a luxury hotel on the Café Royal site. It was part of the group's goal of creating a portfolio of luxury hotels worldwide focusing on major European cities with strong tourism demand.
Grupo Statuto's £85m sale of Crowne Plaza Blackfriars to Marg Galadari
The £85m deal came just six months after Grupo Statuto acquired the site for £81m, with Galadari planning to make it the first in a number of investments in the UK.
Ability Group's c.£50m purchase of Cambridge Garden House
Ability's acquisition of the hotel from the Whitehall Fund and Westmont Hospitality was part of plans to build a pan-European commercial property portfolio of hotels, offices and retail shopping centres. The site was reopened as the first Doubletree by Hilton hotel to open in the UK.
JJW's c.Eu180m acquisition of Le Meridien Dona Filipa from Starman UK
The deal for the Le Méridien Penina Golf and Resort and the Le Méridien Dona Filipa on Portugal's Algarve coast sees MBI International's JJW gain both a hotel development opportunity and the world famous San Lorenzo golf course.
Advisor of the Year
Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels Europe
The group advised on both sides of the table this year, with deals in Italy, Portugal, France and the UK. Transactions included the W London-Leicester Square and Blackfriars Crowne Plaza.
CMS Cameron McKenna
The firm advised on deals across the UK and Europe during the year, in addition to adding a Middle East hotel advisory service through its association with The Levant Lawyers.
Cushman & Wakefield
The addition of industry veteran Stephen Richardson from Atisreal as EMEA head of hospitality valuations further strengthened the newly-established team at C&W.
Halliwells
The reputation of the team under Chris Eddlestone was further cemented by a number of transactions in the sector, including a series of deals with Zeus Private Equity.
TRI Hospitality Consulting
The group continued to provide advice to the sector, backed by its research and analysis division which has been bolstered by its new budget-specific annual survey.
Individual of the Year
Surinder Arora, owner and chairman, Arora Hotels
Heading the largest family-run independent hotel chain in the UK, Arora built the group up from B&Bs at Heathrow. The Rich List resident now leads a group worth £225m.
Grant Hearn, chief executive, Travelodge
Since joining Travelodge in 2003, Hearn has built the brand into one of the most recognised in the UK. Hearn has also been hailed for his work highlighting the contribution of hospitality to he UK economy.
Andy Cosslett, chief executive, InterContinental Hotels Group
Former Cadbury Schweppes executive Cosslett has brought his brand knowledge to the sector, pursuing the group's asset-light strategy while building up its brands, including overseeing the $1bn Holiday Inn relaunch.
Alan Parker, chief executive, Whitbread
Under Alan Parker Whitbread has been streamlined to focus on its Costa Coffee and Premier Inn products, with the latter now the UK's biggest hotel chain. In the past year the group has also announced a ‘green hotel' and an apprenticeship scheme.
Kurt Ritter, president and chief executive, Rezidor Hotel Group
After almost 20 years at the helm of Rezidor, Ritter has created one of the fastest-growing hotel companies in the world. In 2006 Ritter led the group through a successful IPO, with the company now focused on the markets of Russia, Middle East and Africa.
Innovator of the Year
Strategic Hotels
The multi-million pound refit of the London Marriott Grosvenor Square has created one of London's most stylish hotels, complete with award-winning restaurant.
Travelodge
The group's creative marketing and PR have ensured it a high profile, while its pricing structure is modelled more closely to retail and the airline industry than hotels.
Tim and Kit Kemp
The pair's new Haymarket hotel combined quirky design with functionality, as was evidenced by its basement swimming pool, which converts into event space.
City Inn
City Inn's inclusion of iMacs in the rooms of its Manchester hotel provided guests with a complete entertainment system plus true office-from-office business travel.
Purple Hotels
The brand's re-designed rooms have been hailed for breaking ground in the premium limited-service segment, for their size in addition to technology including free wifi.
Innovator in CSR
Dexter Moren, Dexter Moren Architects
The cutting-edge architects who have built on their success with natural use of light, ventilation and warmth to lead the sector in environmentally-sensitive building.
Gordon Campbell Gray
Campbell Gray's green beliefs are apparent in both the group's hotels, which were among the first in the sector to use sustainable technologies, with the aim of completely eliminating waste.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Starwood's Checkout for Children has raised over $21m since its launch in 1995, with over 1 million children being immunised against life-threatening diseases as a result.
Rezidor Group
The group has an extensive CSR policy, which has seen a 10% drop in water usage and a 5% drop in energy used per guest at Park Inn and Radisson SAS.
IHG (for The Innovation Hotel)
The Innovation Hotel exists online as an interactive showcase of some of the best ideas in responsible tourism, as the group considers which features to employ in its real-world hotels.
Investor of the Year
Barclays
The bank has continued to support the sector in the downturn, with deals including the £140m refinancing of Kew Green.
Blackstone
Following the deal to unify the Hiltons, Blackstone have invested on key assets, in addition to the expansion of several brands, notably Doubletree.
Lloyds TSB
Despite being late entrants to the market, the team under Diane Scott has worked on projects including the new myhotel in Brighton.
Moorfield
The group raised a second fund during the year and has continued to be an active buyer, with deals including three sites for its Shearings brand.
Peel Holdings
The group's new developments include hotels at John Lennon Airport, Robin Hood Doncaster, Sheffied and Trafford Centre.
Emerging Markets deal of the Year
Tune Hotels expansion into east Malaysia
Tune Hotels' offering of no-frills rooms costing from $3 has seen the group sign joint venture partnerships with Credit Suisse and Istithmar. The company aims to have 100 hotels within three years.
IHI's acquisition of the Metropole
The Dubai state-controlled group's £130m offer for The Metropole hotel at Whitehall Place in London from The Crown Estate was chosen despite a number of higher bids, because the group's plans were seen as more sympathetic to the building.
Kempinski's expansion into China and Russia
Kempsinki has targeted the emerging markets over the past year, with hotels with a pipeline of over 10 hotels in Russia and eastern Europe and 10 hotels and a luxury train service in China.
Jurys Inn expansion into eastern Europe
Jurys Inn is to take its budget offering overseas with the opening of sites in Prague and Budapest in 2010. The sale of a 50% stake in the group to the investment arm of the Sultanate of Oman earlier this year will further fuel this.
Sale of the Park Inn Yekateringberg for Eu22.5m by SRV Russia
One of the first open market deals in the Russia saw the 160 key hotel in 4th largest city in Russia sold to WenaasGruppen, a Norwegian private equity group, with Rezidor continuing to hold the management
