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The Real Hotel Company^[1], whose origin fates back to 1877, owned, leased and managed over 55 hotels with almost 5,000 bedrooms throughout the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Belgium until its financial collapse in 2009. It focused both at the premium limited service and at the full service mid-market sectors, with a number of different brands. It also owned the New Connaught Rooms ^[2], one of London’s largest multi-functional conference and banqueting venues between 1985 and 2009.

Early history

The forerunner of the Company; was the Birmingham Coffee House Company, founded in 1877 and evolved through the early 20th Century to become the Arden and Cobden Group, owning three Birmingham properties: the Arden Hotel, Cobden Hotel and Norfolk Hotel. They were known as temperance hotels because of the fact that they were unlicensed and did not serve alcohol.

1985-2009

In December 1985 Henry Edwards, the founding Chairman of the company, bought the Arden and Cobden Group. In 1986 he floated the company under the name of Friendly Hotels PLC on the London Stock Exchange, and then acquired six other hotels during 1986. (He had previously founded both Comfort Hotels (no relation to the brand owned by Choice Hotel International), and Crest Hotels before selling them to Ladbroke and Bass respectively.)

In April 1987, the Company purchased the Connaught Rooms a conference and banqueting centre in Covent Garden, London, and after a major refurbishment programme changed the name to the New Connaught Rooms. They were the first property in the industry to be awarded the ISO 9002 designation.

On 13 January 2009 the Company announced the suspension of the company's ordinary shares while trying to resolve its adverse financial position. On 21 January the Company was placed into Administration with Shay Bannon and Antony Nygate of BDO Stoy Hayward as the Administrators.

History of the individual hotels

The Arden and Cobden Group when purchased comprised two hotels, the Cobden Hotel and the Norfolk Hotel. The Cobden Hotel subsequently called the Quality Hotel in Birmingham was sold to the newly-formed Cobdens Hotel Limited for £4.5m in June 2009. The Norfolk Hotel was sold in 2002 to a private hotelier, when at the time it was being operated as the Comfort Inn Edgbaston.

In 1990, Investors in People (I.I.P.) status was awarded to the Friendly Hotel Norwich, the first hotel in industry to receive this award.

In 1991 the company sold the three residential care homes called Comfort Homes.

In 1990 its Royal Hotel in Hull burned down and was totally destroyed; the Duty Manager at the hotel receives a commendation from the Humberside Fire Brigade for evacuating the hotel without any fatalities or serious injuries. It reopened in September 1992 after a £25 million rebuilding programme.

1991 Sale of French Franks restaurant chain based in London.

1992 Purchase of the Valiant House Hotel in Hull, subsequently renamed the Stop Inn in Hull and the Woodland Lodge in Thetford, subsequently renamed the Comfort Inn in Thetford.

1993 The Company launches its new newly developed Stop Inn brand by re-naming some of its existing Hotels.

Friendly Hotel in Newcastle under Lyme rebranded as the Stop Inn in Newcastle under Lyme
Friendly Hotel in Falkirk rebranded as the Stop Inn in Falkirk
Friendly Hotel in Burnley rebraded as the Stop Inn in Burnley

In 1994 the company becomes a franchisee of US-based Choice Hotels International, a major hotel US based hotel group. It rebranded its 27 Friendly Hotels and Friendly Stop Inns to the Comfort Inn and Quality Hotel brand names.

1995 The company opens three hotels: * Quality Friendly Hotel in Cardiff, Quality Friendly Hotel in Loughborough, and Friendly Stop Inn in Boston Lincolnshire

1996 The Company gains the master franchise from Choice Hotels International to develop the Choice brands in the UK and Ireland.

1997 The Comfort Inn in Arundel opens.

1998 Sale of the Premier House business to MWB Business Exchange.

1998 The Company gains the master franchise to develop the Comfort, Quality, Clarion and Sleep Inn brands across Continental Europe (excluding Scandinavia) from Choice Hotels International. The Company teams up with investors Kasterlee and Prem Group to set up a joint venture, Choice Hotels Ireland, in the Irish Republic.

November 1998 All employees from the Administration Office based in Victoria move to the Edgware Premier House where the Sales and Marketing departments are already located.

In 1985, the company signs a 20 year agreement with Norwich Union to take-over three properties from the Oak Hotels Group:

Oak Hotel in Brighton subsequently renamed the Quality Hotel in Brighton
Oak Hotel in Hatfield subsequently renamed the Quality Hotel in Hatfield
Oak Hotel in Wigan subsequently renamed the Quality Hotel in Wigan

December 1998 The company signs another 20 year agreement with Norwich Union to take over seven properties from the Lyric Hotels Group:

Foxfields Country Hotel in Blackburn subsequently renamed the Clarion Hotel & Suites in Blackburn / Clitheroe
Madely Court Hotel in Telford subsequently renamed the Clarion Hotel Madely Court in Telford
Goldthorn Hotel in Wolverhampton subsequently renamed the Quality Hotel Wolverhampton
Westone Manor Hotel in Northampton subsequently renamed the Quality Hotel in Northampton
Bowden Hotel in Altrincham subsequently renamed the Quality Hotel in Altrincham
Hatherton County House Hotel in Stafford subsequently renamed the Quality Hotel in Stafford
Woodhey Country House Hotel in Chester subsequently renamed the Quality Hotel in Chester

1999 A slide in pre-tax profits in 1999 deepens into a series of pre-tax losses over the following years.

2000 Launch of a multi-million pound refurbishment programme for more than half its United Kingdom hotels.

By mid-2004, it had invested £28m in the project.

Three Sleep Inns are opened at

Baldock
Cambridge
Peterborough

2001 The year opened with news of impending insolvency and a drastic rescue plan that included the sale of more than a quarter of the company’s UK hotels.

Over the next two years the Company disposed of 19 properties for a combined £36.1m.

A capital reorganisation of the company, along with enhanced franchise agreements, effectively gave CHI control over 70% of the Company’s equity.

June 2001 Choice Hotels International revealed that it is talking to several potential buyers for the Company.

August 2001 The company changed its name from Friendly Hotels PLC to C.H.E. Group PLC.

February 2002 Choice Hotels International revealed that talks with several potential buyers have been terminated. Having failed to find a buyer, it relinquished its interest in the Company over the next three months.

July 2002 The Company’s shareholders rejected an offer by Choice Hotels International to acquire the group’s European master franchise and its assets in Continental Europe.

2002 The Company started conversion work on an office block to become its first managed Sleep Inn in Leeds.

2003 The company signed its first hotel management contract and announced a new finance package and a new board.

In April, it sold more than half of its remaining stake in the 22-hotel Irish joint venture to Paul Gyle GHG and Chiswick Property Partnerships with the balance of its interest offloaded in 2005.

2004 The Company returned to profit after five years of losses and concluded its three-year programme of disposals to reduce debt.

Five properties are rebranded as Stop Inns:

Comfort Inn in Hull rebranded as the Stop Inn Hull
Comfort Inn in Newcastle under Lyme rebranded as the Stop Inn Newcastle under Lyme
Quality Hotel in Northwich rebranded as the Stop Inn Floatel Northwich
Quality Hotel in Skelmersdale rebranded as the Lancashire Manor (Stop Inn) Hotel Skelmersdale
Quality Hotel in Scotch Corner rebranded as the Scotch Corner (Stop Inn) Hotel near Darlington

In August it raised £5.06m through a placing and open offer of shares to fund the refurbishment of bedrooms at Quality hotels, the opening of new Sleep Inns and the upgrading of conference facilities and public areas.

January 2005 The Company raised more than £800,000 from shareholders from the placement of new shares.

The Company launches its in-house programme “Commitment to Excellence” which will operate in all areas of the business over the next two years.

February 2005 Take-over a former Plymouth Holiday Inn under a management contract which is re-named the Quality Hotel Plymouth.

March 2005 The Sleep Inn in Tewksbury opened.

June 2005 The company changed its name from C.H.E. Group PLC to CHE Hotel Group PLC.

September 2005 The Sleep Inn in Shrewsbury burned down during construction delaying the opening of the hotel by a year.

January 2006 The Company raised £20m through a share placing.

It planned to plough £8.6m into expanding the Sleep Inn brand in to 60 UK locations and to spend another £10m refurbishing its hotels.

January 2006 The Sleep Inn in Derby opened.

October 2006 The Company exited from the European Master Franchise Agreement with CHI.

January 2007 The Sleep Inn in Doncaster opened.

March 2007 The Sleep Inn City of London opened.

April 2007 The Sleep Inn in Birmingham Star City opened.

July 2007 The Company again changed its name from CHE Hotel Group PLC to The Real Hotel Company plc.

October 2007 The Company announced the launch of its new brand, Purple Hotels with the opening of the Purple Hotel in Braintree, Essex.

Purple Hotels are defined as “no frills chic” by operating hotels in the premium, limited service sector.

December 2007 The Company announced that it has entered into an agreement to exit its UK Master Franchise Agreement and transfer of its UK franchising operations, covering the Comfort, Sleep, Quality and Clarion brands, to Choice Hotels International at the end of January 2008.

The sale and servicing of franchise agreements were assigned to a Choice Hotels International subsidiary. Thereafter the Company no longer sold or serviced franchise agreements. It relinquished the Master Franchise Agreement for Choice Hotels in the United Kingdom, but remained a Choice franchisee, operating 30 hotels under the Comfort, Quality and Clarion brands in the United Kingdom. The Company relinquished the Master Franchise Agreement for Choice Hotels in the United Kingdom.

January 2008 The second Purple Hotel opened in Braehaed, Glasgow near the Airport.

February 2008 The nine hotels operating under the Sleep Inn are converted to the new brand Purple Hotels over one weekend. They now operate with nearly 1000 bedrooms, with a new opening in Sheffield in October 2008

The Company relinquished the Master Franchise Agreement for Choice Hotels in the United Kingdom.

The Quality Hotel Redditch reverted to its original name the Southcrest Hotel under the Stop Inn brand.

March 2008 The Company consolidated its Head Office operation following the transfer of seven employees to Choice Hotels International and relocating all remaining employees onto one floor at its corporate offices.

May 2008 The Company sold Quality Hotel Westminster, Quality Hotel Kensington and the Purple Hotel City of London to Whitbread for some 18.6m

January 2009

On the 21st January after the Company was placed into Administration, four hotels, namely:

Comfort Inn in Thetford, Norfolk
Quality Hotel in Newcastle upon Tyne
Stop Inn Floatel in Northwich, Cheshire
Stop Inn in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire

were immediateply closed down with the loss of 150 jobs. Two-thirds of the Head Office employees were also made redundant by the Administrators.

February 2009 On 2nd February a further three more hotels were closed down by the Administrators, namely:

Quality Hotel and Suites in Cardiff, Wales
Quality Hotel in Glasgow, Scotland
Quality Hotel in Welwyn, Hertfordshire

On 6th February Focus Hotels Management safeguarded 500 jobs by agreeing to take on the running of 10 hotel leases. Focus Hotels, headed by Peter Cashman, provides management and management services at six hotels in London, Nottingham and Swindon. Cashman had been an executive director at Choice Hotels Europe until stepping down in January 2007. He said: “We believe that there is a strong opening in the current market for quality mid-market hotels offering value and excellent service”.

The ten saved hotels, which have a total of 780 rooms, are in:

Altrincham subsequently renamed the Bowdon Hotel Altrincham
Wigan subsequently renamed the Wigan Oak Hotel
Wolverhampton subsequently renamed the Goldthorn Hotel & Leisure Club
Hull subsequently renamed the Royal Hotel Hull
Hatfield subsequently renamed the Hatfield Oak Hotel
Chester subsequently renamed the Woodhey House Hotel Chester
Northampton subsequently renamed the Westone Manor Hotel
Stafford subsequently renamed the Hatherton Country House Hotel
Blackburn subsequently renamed the Foxfields Country Hotel & Suites
Telford subsequently renamed the Madeley Court Hotel Telford

Under Focus Hotels the hotels were re-branded to their original names.

On 18th February the property called the Quality Hotel & Suites in Milton Keynes was returned to its Landlords and renamed the Abbeyhill Hotel.

On 20th February three more properties were returned to their Landlords who appointed Compass Hotels, a Management company, to run the hotels on their behalf, namely

Quality Hotel and Suites in Walsall renamed as the Compass Hotel in Walsall
Southcrest Stop Inn Hotel in Redditch renamed as the Southcrest Hotel in Redditch
Quality Hotel and Suites in Loughbrough renames as the Compass Hotel in Loughborough

March 2009 On 4th March the Landlords of the property called the Stop Inn Scotch Corner Hotel near Darlington again appointed Compass Hotels to manage the hotel on their behalf and rename it. The new website reflects its newer management. Scotch Corner Hotel At that time the hotel was then transferred to the management company 'Hotel Partners' in September 2009. Hotel Partners Management

March / April 2009 More hotels were closed down by the Administrators, namely:

Stop Inn in Hull
Stop Inn Lancashire Manor Hotel in Skelmersdale
Purple Hotel at Glasgow Airport
Purple Hotel in Peterborough
Purple Hotel in Baldock
Purple Hotel in Cambridge

June 2009 The Administrators sold the Head Lease of the New Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden and the Quality Hotel Glasgow to Principal Hayley Hotels and Conference Centres. This historic Connaught Rooms building is owned by the United Grand Lodge of England.

November 2009 The Administrators sold the Quality Hotel Norwich to East Anglian hotel operator, GS Hotels for an undisclosed price. Article from the caterersearch.com.^[3]

Brands

Brands	Description
Comfort	Introduced in 1981 to the US as a premium economy brand offering budget accommodation and a level of services and facilities. They are generally smaller hotels. mostly with a bar and restaurant, parking and small-scale meeting facilities.
Quality	A long established brand with a global history of over 50 years, and a range of property styles from traditional to contemporary. They market themselves as excellent value for money. Most properties have bars and restaurants, room service, conference and banqueting facilities and, in many cases, leisure facilities.
Clarion	A luxury hotel brand launched in 1987, aimed to compete with the major international, four star hotel chains in capital cities and resorts throughout the world. Most have conference and banqueting facilities and quality restaurants. In 2003 the Clarion Collection was introduced as a sub-brand for boutique and historic hotels.
Purple Hotels	Purple Hotels was launched in October 2007 as a premium economy brand, offering superior bedrooms but not full hotel services. The bedrooms were amongst the largest in the United Kingdom budget market. Purple Hotels has more fixed pricing and tend to be new-builds rather than conversions.
Stop Inns	Hotels in the Midlands and Northern England designed for the budget conscious traveller with somewhat higher quality than usual for that level. All were located close to major road links and transit points. Offered value for money and “real” food in their restaurants and bars. All Stop Inns were previously branded as either Comfort Inns or Quality Hotels.

References

^ [1]
^ [2]
^ [3], additional text.

External links

[1] [1]

[2] [2]

[Article_from_the_caterersearch.com-3] [3], additional text.

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[2]

[3]

@@ Line 91: / Line 91: @@
 '''2003''' The company signed its first hotel management contract and announced a new finance package and a new board.
-In April, it sold more than half of its remaining stake in the 22-hotel Irish joint venture to Chiswick Property Partnerships with the balance of its interest offloaded in 2005.
+In April, it sold more than half of its remaining stake in the 22-hotel Irish joint venture to Paul Gyle [[GHG]] and Chiswick Property Partnerships with the balance of its interest offloaded in 2005.
 '''2004''' The Company returned to profit after five years of losses and concluded its three-year programme of disposals to reduce debt.