Arora expands hotel empire as his group buys Luton Hoo Hotel
BRITISH Asian hotelier Surinder Arora’s company has bought Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf & Spa for an undisclosed price.
His Arora Group, the UK’s largest private hotel owner-operator, acquired the property from Elite Hotels, reports said.
The hotel, close to Luton Airport outside London, has 228 rooms and is spread across 1,000 acres of parklands, an 18-hole championship golf course, two restaurants and spa. It hosted the Bridgestone Challenge 2017 and 2018 and EuroPro Tour 2017.
A spokesperson told The Golf Business magazine, London, that the hotel received several offers “from a variety of different types of purchasers” and the “sale demonstrates the confidence in the UK hotel market”.
“The purchase of Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf and Spa continues the journey of portfolio diversification, and the hotel is well positioned to capture the significant pent-up demand from leisure and corporate travel from domestic and international markets,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Arora, the chief executive officer and chairman of the Arora Group, said, “Our acquisition of Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf and Spa continues to support our strategy to diversify our hotel portfolio, and we are excited to build on the already significant investment and development by Elite Hotels since their purchase of the estate in 1999. We are excited to welcome the Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf & Spa team to the Arora Group and are looking forward to the opportunities ahead for our expanded family.”
The Arora Group, which is originally known as a specialist airport hotel owner-operator, set up its first city centre hotel in 2017 when the InterContinental London – The O2 was inaugurated. The next year, it acquired The Buckinghamshire Golf Club.
Graeme Bateman, managing director of Elite Hotels, said, “Naturally, we are sad to be parting company with Luton Hoo Hotel, but we do so in the knowledge that we have passed the custodianship of this wonderful property into safe hands. We wish Surinder Arora and his team every success
ACQUISITION: Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf & Spa, is spread across 1,000 acres of parklands, an 18-hole championship golf course, two restaurants and spa;
Surinder Arora as they move Luton Hoo Hotel into a new era. Elite Hotels retains Tylney Hall Hotel, the Ashdown Park Hotel and The Grand Hotel, Eastbourne.
Arora Hotels (which is a division of the Arora Group) owns and operates several properties at and around London airports.