LRC Group has acquired Amaris Hospitality and has agreed to add seven Hilton-branded hotels from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management to the portfolio for an undisclosed consideration.

The transaction for the seven hotels, which all trade under the DoubleTree by Hilton brand, is expected to close later this year.

Amaris Hospitality will become LRC’s new hotel investment and management platform and will manage the new hotels on behalf of LRC, bringing the total number of hotels in the Amaris Hospitality portfolio to 30.

The addition of the new hotels forms part of the fast-growing pan-European property investor’s plan to accelerate the growth of its hotel investments and through Amaris Hospitality create a high performing, long-term investment portfolio of over 50 high-quality, internationally-branded hotel assets.

The seven Hilton-branded hotels comprise over 1,000 contemporary rooms and extensive conferencing facilities and employ approximately 900 people.

They will add to Amaris Hospitality’s existing 23 hotels which trade under the Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, DoubleTree by Hilton, Mercure and Ibis Styles brands, which between them have 3,800 rooms and employ 1,800 people.

Peter Stack has been appointed managing director of Amaris Hospitality, having previously been managing director of asset management with the group.

John Brennan, the outgoing chief executive of Amaris Hospitality, has been appointed non-executive chairman of Amaris Hospitality by LRC and will act as a strategic advisor to LRC on all hospitality investments.

Speaking on behalf of LRC, Chris Dimitriadis, said: “We are delighted to welcome Amaris Hospitality into the LRC Group and look forward to working with Peter Stack and his very experienced team who have a proven track record of delivering exceptional results.

“We are especially pleased that John Brennan has agreed to become chairman of the business.

“John brings a wealth of experience to the new role and he will be assisting us with our ambitious plan to significantly grow our presence in the hospitality sector, especially in the UK and Ireland.

“The addition of the seven DoubleTree by Hilton hotels to the Amaris Hospitality portfolio puts great momentum behind this plan.”