Jarvis to go private next month

Jarvis Hotels will revert to being a private company from 6 February, after shareholders yesterday approved the move.Founder John Jarvis, with co-director Richard Thomason, made an offer of 145p-a-share, or about £147.8m, in October to take the company private.

His bid was made through an investment vehicle called Kayterm and was backed by venture capital firm Lioncourt.At an extraordinary general meeting yesterday, Jarvis shareholders nodded through the move, with shareholders representing 99.2% of the chain’s share capital giving it the green light.

The chain, which operates 21 hotels on a sale-and-leaseback basis, owns 42 on a freehold basis, and has five under occupational leases, will now become a wholly owned subsidiary of Kayterm.At its last results, half-year figures reported in December, Jarvis described trading as “difficult” as it posted a 56.4% fall in pre-tax profits before one-off items.

His bid was made through an investment vehicle called Kayterm and was backed by venture capital firm Lioncourt.At an extraordinary general meeting yesterday, Jarvis shareholders nodded through the move, with shareholders representing 99.2% of the chain’s share capital giving it the green light.

The chain, which operates 21 hotels on a sale-and-leaseback basis, owns 42 on a freehold basis, and has five under occupational leases, will now become a wholly owned subsidiary of Kayterm.At its last results, half-year figures reported in December, Jarvis described trading as “difficult” as it posted a 56.4% fall in pre-tax profits before one-off items.