Singapore investment company BIL, which took over Thistle earlier this year, has put two of the hotel group’s London properties up for sale with a combined price tag of around £60m, reports the Times. BIL, formerly Brierley Investments Limited, is believed to have appointed leisure property specialist Christie & Co to find buyers for the 375-room Thistle Islington and the 211-room London Ryan in King’s Cross.
The sale of the properties comes following a strategic review of Thistle’s business by BIL chief operating officer Arun Amarsi, who replaced Ian Burke as chief executive of the hotel group shortly after the takeover.
According to the Times, analysts believe Amarsi is looking to ‘tidy up’ Thistle by offloading its poorer quality hotels to make it more attractive to potential buyers.
Following a prolonged battle, BIL finally won control of Thistle in May with a bid of 130p-a-share, valuing it at £627.1m. The Thistle board reluctantly advised shareholders to accept the offer, despite claming that the hotel group was worth 211p-a-share.

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