Whitbread Completes Two Sale-and-Lease-Back Deals in London

Whitbread has completed two sale-and-leaseback transactions in London. The group has sold a 339-room hub by Premier Inn development in Westminster to M&G Investments for approximately £102 million (£301,000 per room) in exchange for a 25-year lease agreement. The hotel, on Tothill Street, is expected to be completed in October 2017. Additionally, Whitbread has also sold its 326-room Premier Inn project in Farringdon to Aviva Investors for approximately £103 million (£316,000 per room), also for a 25-year lease. The Premier Inn is expected to be finished in December 2018.

KHC Sells Mövenpick Hotel Ambassador Accra

Kingdom Holding Company has sold its 100% interest in the five-star Mövenpick Hotel Ambassador Accra in Ghana, West Africa, to Mauritius-based QG Africa Hotel LP for a consideration of US$100 million (approximately US$385,000 per room). Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts will continue to operate the 260-room hotel, which is within Accra’s central business district.

Radisson Blu and Park Inn Times Two for Cyprus and Latvia

Carlson Rezidor has signed an agreement with Sunnyseeker Hotels for its second hotel on the island of Cyprus. The Radisson Blu Conference and Airport Hotel, Larnaca is expected to open in 2019, just three kilometres from Larnaca International Airport on the island’s south coast. The 180-room hotel will join the 105-key Radisson Blu Hotel & Residence, Larnaca, which is currently under construction and due to open later this year. Rezidor also announced this week that it has opened its second Park Inn by Radisson in the Latvian capital, Riga. The 178-room Park Inn by Radisson Valdemara is at the entrance to the city’s Old Town and is the group’s seventh hotel in Riga overall.

GIOHOS Coming Back to Abu Dhabi

GIOHIS is returning to the Viceroy in Abu Dhabi on 6/7 February with new themes, new speakers and a plethora of senior industry figures in attendance – see www.giohis.com/events. This hotel investor Summit covers the whole Indian Ocean region, with speakers from South Africa, Mauritius, Kenya, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Thailand, Singapore and Australia – as well as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, the UAE and from Europe. Some 36 speakers are chief executive officers of their businesses – investors like Mike Goodson (ADIA); Joe Sita (IFA); Mohamed Al Mubarak (Aldar); Dillip Rajakarier (Minor); Suchad Chiaranussati (SC Capital); and senior brand executives from Mövenpick, Langham and AccorHotels. This year’s speakers will discuss key issues such as: Will the rise of the mega-brand help or hurt owners? Is Africa ready for serious hotel investment? Will institutional buyers ever fall in love with resorts? Can Abu Dhabi reinvent itself to triumph over the falling oil price? Is the loyalty programme worth it for owners? Should banks insist on personal guarantees for hotel loans? HVS subscribers benefit from a 10% discount on ticket prices using the code DISCOUNTHVS during January.

Courtyard by Marriott Arrives in Edinburgh

Marriott International started the new year by opening its third Courtyard by Marriott property in Scotland. The Courtyard Edinburgh in the country’s capital is housed across three historic Georgian townhouses in the city centre. The 240-room is owned and was developed by real estate firm Chris Stewart Group and is managed and operated by Redefine|BDL Hotels.

Hilton Races into Doncaster

Construction is due to begin on a new Hilton hotel at Doncaster Racecourse in the UK, following a franchise agreement between Hilton Worldwide and Arena Racing Company. The 154-room Hilton Garden Inn Doncaster Racecourse will be within the grounds of the horseracing venue and is due to open in 2018. Hilton currently operates 138 hotels across eight brands in the UK and this new property marks the brand’s debut in Doncaster. “Hilton Garden Inn is now trading or under development in more than 120 locations across Europe, Middle East and Africa. The brand's continued growth has included new markets this year such as Tanger City Centre in Morocco, and Dublin, Ireland, as well as further expansion in established markets including Austria and Belgium,” said John Greenleaf, global head of Hilton Garden Inn. “The wonderful new Hilton Garden Inn in Doncaster will add another great stadium property to our portfolio in the UK following the opening of The Hilton Garden Inn Sunderland in the Stadium of Light in April, 2016,” he added.

Takin’ it Easy in Belfast

Budget brand easyHotel has signed a franchise agreement for its first hotel in Northern Ireland. A former office and dry cleaners in Belfast, on Howard Street, will be transformed into the 81-room hotel, which is scheduled to open in 2018. “Belfast has benefitted from extensive investment in urban regeneration and is a key business and tourist destination,” commented Guy Parsons, easyHotel’s chief executive officer. The group currently has 1,833 rooms under development.

Renaissance Makes its Debut in Lagos..

Marriott International’s Renaissance Hotels brand has announced the opening of its first property in Sub-Saharan Africa: the 155-room Renaissance Lagos Ikeja Hotel. The group’s chief operating officer for the Middle East and Africa, Mark Satterfield, said, “We are delighted to mark the debut of Renaissance Hotels in Nigeria with the opening of Renaissance Lagos, Ikeja. This is not just a landmark signing for Renaissance Hotels, but also for Marriott International as it marks our fourth debut in Africa, following the opening of Marriott International properties across a number of its brands in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Morocco.” Renaissance Hotels currently operates 160 hotels worldwide.

…As Sheraton Becomes Marriott’s Seventh Heaven in Algeria

Marriott International continues to expand its presence in Algeria, North Africa, with the opening of its seventh hotel in the country. The 201-room Sheraton Annaba, owned by Société d’investissement Hotelier, is on Algeria’s northeast coast in the city of Annaba, with views of the Mediterranean Sea. Marriott also has a further six hotels in its pipeline for Algeria.

Casablanca to Get a Hilton Garden Inn

Hilton Worldwide has signed a management agreement with Group Sadiki that will see it make its first appearance in Casablanca, Morocco’s largest city. Construction is set to start later this year on the Hilton Garden Inn Casablanca Sidi Maarouf. The hotel will initially contain 118 guest rooms, with space to expand further. The property will be part of a mixed-use development in Sidi Maarouf, a new business district in the southwest of the city. Hilton re-established its presence in Morocco in March 2016 with the opening of the 320-room Hilton Garden Inn Tanger City Center; additionally, the 180-key Hilton Tanger City Center Hotel & Residences will soon be welcoming its first guests.

Wyndham Garden Debuts in UAE

Following the signing of an agreement, Wyndham Hotel Group and R Hotels will open the first Wyndham Garden hotel in the UAE by the end of the year. The four-star Wyndham Garden Ajman Corniche will open in Ajman with 179 rooms (138 standard rooms and 41 suites) over 17 floors. The new hotel will be joining the two other Wyndham-branded hotels currently owned by R Hotels in the emirate: the 388-room Ramada Hotel & Suites Ajman and the 107-room Ramada Beach Hotel Ajman. Iftikhar Hamdani, cluster general manager of the two Ramada hotels in Ajman, commented, “This hotel is geared to accommodate the influx of guests as Ajman continues to attract more bookings, both from tourists and UAE residents, year after year. With the additional room inventory under our group, we will boost our position as the leading hotels in the Emirates in terms of occupancy. We are already working on partnerships in various markets, including North and East Europe, to market our new hotel.”

Sofitel Signed for Doha’s West Bay

AccorHotels has signed a management agreement with AlBaker Investments for a Sofitel hotel in Doha, Qatar. The 4,200-room Sofitel Doha West Bay is due to open in 2019 in front of the City Center Doha Mall. The French group currently has two properties in operation in Qatar and a further six under development. Commenting on the news, Olivier Granet, managing director and chief operating officer of AccorHotels Middle East, said, “Sofitel has become a key player in the luxury and upscale segment of the hospitality industry and the new Sofitel Doha West Bay will broaden the scope of our offering in one of the region’s key markets”.

Radisson Blu Expands in Saudi Arabia

Carlson Rezidor has got together with Tanami Arabia Ltd to open two new Radisson Blu properties in the city of Dhahran in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province: the 92-unit Radisson Blu Residences, Dhahran is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2017, close to the Dhahran Mall, and the 216-room Radisson Blu Hotel, Dhahran Square will open in the first quarter of 2019 opposite the residences. “Our development pipeline in the Kingdom makes us one of the fastest growing hotel operators, and we are delighted to further grow the iconic Radisson Blu brand presence across Saudi Arabia,” said Elie Younes, HVS alumnus and executive vice president and chief development officer for the Rezidor Hotel Group.

Curio Collection Makes its Middle Eastern Debut

Hilton Worldwide’s Curio Collection by Hilton brand has opened its first property in the Middle East. The AlRayyan Hotel Doha, Curio Collection by Hilton is in Doha’s upscale Al Rayyan neighbourhood in Qatar. The 201-room hotel is directly connected to the Mall of Qatar.

Absolute Share Price Performance Over the Past Week – 5-12 January 2017

 

Disclaimer: Information provided above has been gathered from various market sources. HVS has not independently verified the accuracy of the information provided. Interested parties should not rely on the information as statement of facts and are advised to make their own independent checks to verify the information provided. For further information, please feel free to contact HVS London.