The Singapore owner of the Thistle Hotel group, BIL International, has sold six UK hotels to an undisclosed party for a combined value of £185m (US$352.5m, 272m euro) in a sale-and-leaseback deal.

The net profit from the sale has been calculated at approximately £46.7m (US$89m, 68.7m euro).

Five of the hotels are situated in London – Thistle’s Hyde Park, Euston, Barbican, Bloomsbury Park and Piccadilly properties – and the sixth in Edinburgh.

They have all been leased back to Thistle for a 30 year period.

BIL’s chief executive officer, Arun Amarsi, said: “The sold hotels will continue to be an important part of our portfolio.

“We will continue to grow our hotel brands through product and service enhancements and new hotel openings. At an operational level, our focus will remain on revenue growth, cost efficiencies and cost reductions. The sale proceeds will be utilised for debt reduction and new investments.”

Thistle’s hotel portfolio comprises more than 10,800 bedrooms and includes 50 full-service owned, leased and managed sites. Flagship owned hotels of the group include the Thistle Tower and Marble Arch. Details: www.bilgroup.com