§ Mr. Boothasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has received the proposals approved by the British Railways Board on 7 October and reaffirmed on 4 November for the sale of British Transport hotels; and what has been his response.
§ Mr. David Steelasked the Secretary of State for Transport, in the implementation of his policy of selling off to the private sector certain British Transport hotels, if he will take steps to ensure that the price at which a sale is agreed is commensurate with the market value as estimated by independent assessors, where such comparisons are available.
§ Mr. David HowellIn furtherance of the agreed privatisation policy the railways board announced on 19 November its intention to offer 21 hotels for sale by public tender. It had earlier considered offers for some of the hotels from a consortium including certain of the management, but with the great bulk of the equity to be held by financial institutions. It informed me of the offers. In view of the substantial discount involved relative to an independent valuation I told it that I would be unable to defend a sale on those terms. The board expects that the consortium will now participate in the tender.