Management buyout for Jarvis Hotels

Jarvis Hotels agreed to a management buyout yesterday which valued the company at £159million. Executive chairman and founder John Jarvis and chief executive Richard Thomason have arranged the deal with finance from venture capital company Lioncourt Capital under the company name Kayterm. Shares in the company have risen since the summer – more due to rumours of a possible bid than good performance. The announcement came as the company reported a 56.5% fall in interim pre-tax profits. Turnover fell 1.7% to £87.6million. Average room rates and revenue per available room fell 3.3% as leisure customers took the place of higher spending business travellers.