Tainui considers selling hotels

The Novotel Tainui Hamilton and the Ibis Hamilton Tainui may soon be on the market with joint owners the Tainui tribe and Hamilton City Council reported to be considering selling down their holdings.

Hamilton Riverview Hotels, the holding company for the hotels, is 41 per cent owned by Tainui Group Holdings, 41 per cent owned by Hamilton City Council, while operator Accor owns 18 per cent.

Tainui Group Holdings and the council are this week expected to confirm plans to jointly offer a majority stake in the hotels, the Waikato Times reports. Tainui will maintain a minority holding and Accor will be bought out as part of the process.

Hamilton Riverview Hotels had total assets of $46 million in the last Tainui Group annual report.

The company has been performing well and a final stage of refurbishment of the Novotel Tainui was completed in September 2011.

The hotel business was one of the first major investments by the tribe after it received settlement money.

The tribe also has extensive retail interests and has signalled plans for a logistics hub in the city.

The tribe also owns 70 per cent of the Novotel Auckland Airport through its subsidiary Tainui Development Ltd.

NZN