MWB unsure whether it will meet deadline for selling Malmaison and Hotel du Vin
Added/updated: Monday 17 March 2008, Category: News summary
Marylebone Warwick Balfour (MYB) has admitted that it has “no idea” whether it will be able to meet its end of year deadline for selling Malmaison and Hotel du Vin. Richard Balfour-Lynn, chief executive of MWB, said that although he continued to field interest in the hotels from third parties, he was sceptical of their ability to fund a deal. Lat year, the company twice got close to selling its hotel business – valued at an estimated ₤700m – but was scuppered by the credit crunch. The comments came as MWB reported a 17% rise in underlying 2007 earnings, excluding property disposals and one-off costs, to ₤33.3m.