MWB Group Holdings (MWB) has sold its Malmaison Aberdeen hotel to CIP Property in a sale and leaseback deal worth £16.1m.

The 80-bedroom hotel will be leased back to Malmaison Aberdeen Limited (MAL) - MWB's wholly owned subsidiary that operates the hotel - for an initial annual rent of £1.2m.

MAL will enter into a 35-year with the option of taking a further 35-year lease.

The transaction is conditional on approval by MWB shareholders.

According to a spokesperson, proceeds from the transaction will be used to reduce the indebtedness of Malmaison, which as at 31 December 2010, amounted to £272.1m.

Richard Balfour-Lynn, MWB's CEO, said: "This fifth sale and leaseback is enabling us to reduce Malmaison's debt by more than £100m which, in today's market we regard as extremely beneficial.

"The Malmaison and Hotel du Vin brands continue to show great resilience in the current economic climate and remain a firm favourite of our loyal customer base.

"We are now creating a platform to further expand our business both nationally and internationally."