Bridges sells stake in hotel chain Qbic to Cerberus

The divestment is an exit for the vendor's Bridges Sustainable Growth Fund III vehicle, which held its final close in October 2013 on £125m, having exceeded its target of £100m.

Under the vendor's backing, the business converted a disused 56,000 square foot office building in the Whitechapel district of London into a boutique hotel.

Previous funding
Bridges (then known as Bridges Ventures) provided Qbic with expansion capital in November 2013. Financial details of the transaction were undisclosed, though Sustainable Growth Fund III typically writes equity cheques of £2-15m.

Company
Qbic is a boutique ecologically focused hotel chain with locations in London and Amsterdam. Its London hotel offers 171 rooms with prices starting at £69 per night. The company's hotels are designed around the Qbi concept, a Dutch building technique for manufacturing pre-fabricated bedrooms made primarily from recycled materials for installation in existing structures. It also uses solar panels, energy-efficient lighting and water-saving measures.

According to a statement issued by the vendor, Qbic's turnover was up 11% in Q1 2017 on the same period in 2016.

People
Bridges Fund Management – Ian Taylor (investment director).
Cerebrus Capital Management – Lee Millstein (global head of real estate).
Qbic – Julie Fawcett (managing director).

Advisers
Vendor – KPMG (corporate finance); Addleshaw Goddard (legal).

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• Topics
• Exits
• Buyouts
• Benelux
• Consumer
• Netherlands
• Secondary buyout
• Bridges Ventures