QUINLAN Private, the investment vehicle run by Derek Quinlan, is reportedly the front-runner to buy the hotels brand owned by Marylebone Warwick Balfour.

The parent company of luxury hotel chains Hotel du Vin and Malmaison said today it was in talks to sell the businesses outright after abandoning plans to offload them to a tax-efficient hotel group.

The luxury Hotel du Vin and Malmaison hotel chains were today sold for £495.1m (€727.4m) to a new tax-efficient hotel group.

Pest control and hygiene firm Rentokil Initial continued its restructuring today by agreeing to sell its conference venues business for £325m (€474.7m).