Hyatt hotel in Birmingham sold in £38m deal to Arab group

The new owner aims to spend around £2.7m on further improvements to the 319-room hotel over the next three years.

It has been bought by the Bin Otaiba Investment Group, based in the United Arab Emirates.

While ownership has transferred, the deal includes a management deal that will see the hotel remain a Hyatt Regency. Hyatt's global head of strategy and franchising, Steve Haggerty, said: "We are delighted to work with Bin Otaiba as we continue growing through our asset recycling strategy.

"This transaction allows us to retain brand presence in the market and expand our relationship with an owner who is investing in the Hyatt Regency brand."

The hotel, near Centenary Square, is close to the International Convention Centre (ICC) and Birmingham's Symphony Hall. A 24-storey, glass-fronted building, the hotel currently dominates the skyline of central Birmingham, although it is set to be overtopped by a series of even taller new buildings currently under development.

All the hotel's 319 guestrooms and suites, including the exclusive Presidential Suite, have floor-to-ceiling windows offering views across the city. It has attracted a string of top celebrities over the years, most recently movie star and former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger who stayed at the Hyatt when he visited the city for his "An Experience With ..." stage interview at the International Convention Centre in January.

It is also the hotel of choice for leading politicians attending the party conferences held in the city. For instance the Hyatt was the official conference hotel when David Cameron addressed the Tory Party for the first time as Prime Minister in 2010. In 2011 there was a bump in the road for the Hyatt after it fell into the hands of administrators from Ernst & Young, along with The Waldorf in London, after financial problems for its then owners.

The following year it was bought by Hyatt Hotels Corporation, which has run the Regency on a management contract since it opened in 1990. CBRE Hotels acted for Hyatt on the sale of the hotel, which recently underwent a £5m refurbishment and will now be upgraded again.

New owners Bin Otaiba already own the Hilton Sharjah in the UAE, the Millennium Hotel Abu Dhabi and Embassy Suites Hotel in Sharjah,. The company is also building a five-star hotel on Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island.