Marylebone Warwick Balfour Group (MWB) has sold its Malmaison and Hotel du Vin portfolio to Vector Hospitality – a newly formed UK hospitality REIT – for £495.1m.

CEO of MWB, Richard Balfour-Lynn, said: “This is an integral part of our stated strategy of returning cash, or cash equivalents, to shareholders. Importantly for our hotels business, the transaction creates a debt-free operation able to focus on generating excellent returns to investors over the medium term.”

MWB will continue to operate the entire portfolio pursuant to OpCo leases, and will be able to acquire further hotel sites for development and sale.

In addition, a 33-year leasehold interest in Malmaison Oxford will be retained, five hotels are set for development and two more sites are being held for development.

The existing portfolio comprises nine Malmaison hotels – acquired by MWB in 2000 – and eight Hotel du Vin hotels – acquired in 2004 – located in 15 locations across the UK. The two boutique hotel brands total 1,363 rooms.