Shoosmiths has advised international hotelier Leonardo Hotels Europe on the acquisition of Morrison Street Hotel Limited and its Edinburgh city centre hotel.
Following the successful opening of its first UK hotel in London, Leonardo Hotels Europe have expanded into Scotland with the purchase of the Leonardo Hotel Edinburgh City Centre. Previously managed by Whitbread's hotel arm Premier Inn, the popular hotel is centrally located on Morrison Street near Edinburgh Haymarket station and the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, perfectly placed for business and conference travellers.
The hotel boasts 282 rooms and four function rooms totalling 164 square metres, making it an ideal venue for conferences and conventions. It also has rare car parking capacity for 90 cars and is a 25 minute tram journey from Edinburgh International Airport.
The Shoosmiths' corporate team was led by partner Stuart Murray and included associate Jen Paton and solicitor Alexander Lamley. The deal also required real estate and employment expertise that was provided by real estate partner Janette Speed, associate Shona White and employment partner Karen Harvie.
Edinburgh is one of the best performing markets in Europe and is highly sought after location for investors to acquire hotel real estate. Leonardo Hotels has over 65 hotels of 3-4 star category in 35 European destinations including the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, Hungary, Czech Republic and Italy. The hotels offer unique ambience with their own individual character and appeal.
Daniel Roger, Managing Director Europe at Leonardo Hotels, commented: 'The team at Shoosmiths has provided excellent legal advice and demonstrated strong commercial awareness of our industry that has ensured the transaction was efficient and completed on schedule.'
Stuart Murray added: 'We are very pleased to have advised Leonardo Hotels on its expansion into Edinburgh with such a significant acquisition. Edinburgh is a thriving business and tourist hub and the arrival of Leonardo Hotels will serve to support this further and we very much look forward to working with them on future expansions.'
Shoosmiths' corporate team advises public and private companies, management teams, investors and debt providers through the business life cycle. Shoosmiths work with businesses from start-up and first round finance through to mergers and acquisitions, MBO and MBI transactions, development funding and on exits, by way of sale, listing or private equity investment.
Nationally, the corporate team is ranked in joint first place by deal volume in Experian's UK Deal Review and Advisor League Table. The team was recognised for its mergers and acquisitions expertise at the 2015 M&A Awards, winning the Law Firm of the Year category.