IHI to sell London luxury flats and St Petersburg retail centre

International Hotel Investments is considering the sale of its 12 luxury apartments in London and a commercial centre in St Petersburg, according to Edward Rizzo, a director of Rizzo, Farrugia & Co (Stockbrokers) Limited.

In his Stock Market Review in today’s The Times Business, Mr Rizzo says: “IHI is considering the sale of certain properties which are not central to the attainment of the company’s ultimate objective of investing and operating upscale hotels. These ‘non-core assets’ comprise the 12 luxury apartments in London and the retail and commercial centre adjacent to the hotel in St. Petersburg”. IHI owns six Corinthia hotels in Budapest, St. Petersburg, Prague, Lisbon, Malta and Tripoli and a 50 per cent shareholding in the Corinthia Hotel London hotel which recently opened.

Mr Rizzo says IHI chairman Alfred Pisani recently told members of the financial community that the sale of the 12 apartments in London will provide a tangible example of how IHI can realise value for shareholders. The apartments will be selectively marketed in certain markets such as China and the Gulf states.

During the meeting Mr Pisani also revealed that successful discussions had taken place with the two banks that have an outstanding loan covering Corinthia’s Tripoli hotel.

“In fact, the two banks have agreed to allow IHI to postpone capital repayments due in 2011 by one year on the outstanding amounts due for full settlement by 2018, totalling €48.25 million as at December 31, 2010,” Mr Rizzo says.

Mr Rizzo also says that the Corinthia Tripoli hotel has been a major contributor to profitability and cash flow for IHI in prior years and the management of the group’s cash flow situation has therefore become a major priority for IHI.

He adds: “Mr Pisani explained that since mid-February when the Libya crisis erupted, a major challenge has been to keep the Tripoli hotel open by a handful of Maltese individuals. Another huge challenge was to maintain all other IHI-owned hotels also operational following the UN and the EU sanctions against the Libyan regime, and all this when the London hotel was nearing completion and preparations were in full swing to start accepting guests.”