Hotel operator motives in UK sale and leaseback/management-back transactions [Summary]

Sale and leaseback have become a major financing method in the hotel industry in the UK over the last 10 years, followed more recently by sale and management-back. This article, using interviews with current practitioners, examines the motivations of owner/operators in adopting these methods, identifying differences from generic motives in the previous literature relating to the subject. It finds that because of an integral part that hotel properties play in the delivery of customer service there are differences of opinion on the benefits of such an approach and there is a need to adopt some different considerations in the decision to use this method of funding.