Stelios buys another 60k shares in easyHotel

30 August 2019

Founder of easyHotel, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has acquired another block of shares in the company, which the consortium Citrus UK Bidco is attempting to take private for 95p a share, valuing the company at c£139m. They have to date acquired 52% of the shares in the listed company.

Commenting on the purchase of a further c60k shares at 95p (27.8% of the issued capital) on 28 August 2019, Sir Stelios said: "The easyGroup business model is to allow other investors to take (or retain) control of a stockmarket quoted business in return for:
1) Additional equity capital to grow the business and
2) Extra royalty income - based on top line revenues - for easyGroup as the ultimate owner of the easy family of brands.

"I am delighted that ICAMAP and Ivanhoe Cambridge think that easyHotel.com is such a great business that they want to invest big money to build more great value easyHotels! Nobody would be happier when this brand goes from 50 hotels in operation and under construction now - to say 150 in a few years!

"As with every listed share in the world and as a rational investor, I believe that there is a price to buy and a price to sell easyHotel shares. At 95p I am a buyer of shares and not a seller. And easyGroup now has waiver from the Panel to take the holding above the 30% limit. So easyHotel PLC will, by 17 September, be settled into having one shareholder at fifty something percent and easyGroup at c 30% with a free float of other investors in between.

"Now we will all have to work together to grow the number of easyHotels exponentially! So good news all round for the easy family of brands! www.easy.com!"