New statistics issued by PricewaterhouseCoopers anticipate a rebound for the UK hotel sector. A global economic recovery is clearly underway, driven by an improving outlook in the world`s major economies and revised forecasts for UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) now expect the economy to grow by 3.2% in 2004.A recovery in equity markets is bolstering business confidence and in the UK, business investment picked up strongly in the fourth quarter of 2003.

Already many leading hotel groups` finances have reflected the improvements and reported firming demand in the first quarter of 2004. However uncertainty in the Middle East and rising oil prices could restrain the travel recovery to some degree.




Nevertheless, reflecting the revival, PricewaterhouseCoopers latest forecast for the UK in 2004 is cautiously bullish.

PricewaterhouseCoopers anticipates 4.2% Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) growth overall, with a 4.1% RevPAR gain in the Provinces and a 4.5% RevPAR rise for London, supported by both average daily rate (ADR) and occupancy gains. In 2005, upward GDP revision and the expectation of further global growth should result in more positive RevPAR gains for UK hotels and an 8.8% gain in London.For 2006, the trends is set to continue although anticipation of a deceleration in the UK economy may temper growth.

Robert Milburn, PricewaterhouseCoopers UK hospitality and leisure leader commented: As predicted last year, a return to more profitable trading is already beginning to generate a high level of interest from buyers and sellers of UK hotel assets. The luxury Savoy Group recently bought by the Irish investment company Quinlan Private for