Thistle owner puzzled as shares jump

BIL International, the parent company of Thistle Hotels, has told the Singapore stock exchange it does not know what lies behind a substantial rise in its share price and the number of shares being bought and sold.

But it did point out that Thistle 'as part of its ordinary course of business as a hotel company, is continuously engaged in discussions and exploring opportunities for portfolio enhancement including reconfiguration of the number of hotels it owns, leases or manages.'

BIL was responding to an earlier query by the stock exchange.Last month Thistle put seven UK hotels on the market with a price tag of up to £200m and also revealed it was planning a change of style and name.

Thistle was bought out last year by BIL, previously its majority shareholder.