Starwood Capital Sells 80% Stake in Spanish Portoflio

Starwood Capital has sold its interest in four beachfront hotels (with a total of 2,096 keys) across Spain to London & Regional for €250 million. The private investment firm owned an 80% stake the hotels in a joint venture with Melià Hotels International. Melià will retain its 20% interest in the portfolio and will continue to operate the 799-room Sol Principe in Malaga, the 343-room Sol Lanzarote, the 254-room Sol House Ibiza and the 700-room Sol Palmanova in Mallorca.

AC Hotel Nice Sold

French private equity firm Extendam and hotel investor Algonquin have purchased the AC Hotel Nice, on the French Riviera, in an off-market transaction for an undisclosed price. The 143-room hotel, on Nice’s well-known Promenade des Anglais, was built in 1987 and underwent a full refurbishment in 2013.

Fragrance Group Picks Up Second UK Property

Singapore-based Fragrance Group has purchased the 141-room Palace Hotel in the seaside resort of Torquay, southwest England, from The Torquay Palace Ltd. The price of the transaction was not disclosed but the hotel was on the market with a guide price of more than £10 million. The 141-room hotel is within 17 acres of grounds and overlooks Ansley Cove and Lyme Bay. Additionally, planning permission has been granted to construct 137 apartments in the grounds of the hotel and extend the property with further guest rooms and a spa. This is Fragrance Group’s second purchase in the UK following its recent acquisition of the Imperial Hotel in Blackpool in February 2017.

Dalata Sells Croydon Park Property and Bright Buys its Seventh UK Hotel

Dalata Hotel Group has sold Kasterlee UK, the company leasing the Croydon Park Hotel, in Greater London, for an undisclosed sum. Dalata acquired the leasehold in the 211-room hotel at the beginning of 2016 as part of a four-property portfolio, but reportedly sold the asset after it made a small £20,000 loss over the first half of 2017. Additionally, Bright Hospitality Group has acquired the freehold Cheltenham Regency Hotel, two miles from the Gloucestershire town of Cheltenham, for an undisclosed sum from Drew Hotels Ltd, bringing its portfolio of owned hotels across the UK to seven. The hotel, which has 42 en suite rooms, five suites, a bar and restaurant, a function room and further meeting rooms, recently underwent a substantial refurbishment.

Hot.E Bringing September Heatwave to London

This year’s Hotel Investment Conference Europe (Hot.E) is due to take place in London over 26-27 September 2017, at the Hilton London Bankside. HVS Hodges Ward Elliott (HVS HWE) is pleased to be sponsoring the event and both Charles Human, managing director of HVS HWE, and Chris Martin, a senior director with the firm, will be in attendance. Charles is speaking on opportunities in the UK and Chris will be moderating a Money Hall panel called ‘A Focus on Lenders’. Additionally, HVS London’s chairman, Russell Kett, will be receiving the Hot.E Hall of Fame Award, which recognizes a hotel industry leader whose career has had a profound and positive impact on the European hotel industry. For more information or to book your place, visit www.europehotelconference.com.

Scandic Expands in Germany and Moves into Helsinki Railway Station

Scandic Hotels has signed a long-term lease agreement with SH.I.R Real Estate for a new hotel in Germany. The Wyndham Grand Frankfurt is to undergo a major renovation and will reopen as the Scandic Frankfurt Museumsufer at the beginning of 2018, marking the Scandinavian group’s debut in the central German financial hub of Frankfurt. The 293-room hotel is in the city centre, close to the main railway station. Scandic currently operates three hotels across Germany (in Berlin and Hamburg). Scandic also signed an agreement this week with Exilion to operate a hotel in the building that houses Helsinki Central Railway Station in Finland. The 483-room hotel will be one of the largest properties in Scandic’s portfolio and a landmark hotel in Helsinki.

Hilton Opens its Second Hotel in Cluj-Napoca

Hilton Worldwide has opened its first DoubleTree property in the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca, in the northwest of the country in the Transylvania region. The DoubleTree by Hilton Cluj - City Plaza is owned by and managed by Transylvania Trek. The 85-room hotel is in the city centre, near to Saint Michael's Cathedral, Museum Square and the Orthodox Cathedral, and is the second Hilton-branded property in Romania’s second most populous city, joining the 109-room Hampton by Hilton Cluj-Napoca.

Rezidor Reaches Four in Hungary

Carlson Rezidor has opened its fourth hotel in Hungary. The 211-room Park Inn by Radisson Hotel & Spa Zalakaros is directly to the country’s famous Gránit Thermal and Medical Bath spa complex (which includes a fitness centre and an aquapark with a heated indoor pool and spa facilities) in the town of Zalakaros, in southwestern Hungary. “We are delighted to expand our presence in Hungary by adding Zalakaros to Sarvar and Budapest,” said Yilmaz Yildirimlar, Rezidor Hotel Group’s area senior vice president for central and southern Europe. “We believe that Park Inn by Radisson brand has an incredible potential in the popular mid-market hotel segment across Europe,” he added.

Nobu Hotels Makes its UK Debut

Nobu Hotels has opened its first property in the UK this week in London. The 150-room Nobu Hotel Shoreditch is in East London’s trendy Shoreditch area. Nobu Hotel’s pipeline for the EMEA region includes a hotel in Ibiza due to open this month and further properties in Saudi Arabia (Riyad, October 2017), Spain (Marbella, 2018) and Bahrain (2019).

Hotel de Crillon Reopens

The long-awaited opening of the iconic Hotel de Crillon in Paris, France, took place this week. The hotel, which was operated by Concorde Hotels before it closed in 2013 to under a complete refurbishment, is now managed by Rosewood Hotels & Resorts. The hotel’s building was commissioned in 1758 by King Louis XV and was a family residence until it became a hotel in 1909. The 124-room hotel is on the city’s Place de la Concorde.

Holiday Inn Moves into Mutare

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has opened its first Holiday Inn property in landlocked Zimbabwe, in southern Africa. The 96-room city centre Holiday Inn Mutare is in Mutare, Zimbabwe’s fourth-largest city, in the country’s diamond mining region. Operated under a franchise agreement, the hotel is owned by African Sun Ltd. IHG currently has 31 Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts (6,346 rooms) open across the Middle East and Africa and an additional nine properties (2,503 rooms) due to open within the next three to five years.

Hilton to Become the First Global Chain in Niger

Hilton Worldwide has signed a management agreement with Niamey Hotel & Suites Niger Ltd that will see it become the first global hospitality chain to operate a property in Niger in Western Africa. Construction has already started on the nine-storey, 142-room Hilton Niamey in Niger’s capital, Niamey. The hotel is due to open in 2019, Hilton’s fiftieth year of operating hotels in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Ibis Styles Brand Makes its Mecca Debut

AccorHotels has launched its ibis Styles brand in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca. The ibis Styles Makkah joins two other ibis-branded properties in the kingdom, in the capital Riyadh and the Red Sea port of Yanbu. Additionally, the 285-room hotel is the first property to open under a strategic agreement between AccorHotels and Alesayi Group, which includes the opening of seven ibis-branded hotels across the country by 2018. “As the first operational hotel with the Alesayi Group, this trusted partnership has also strengthened AccorHotels’ position as the largest hotel operator in the Kingdom,” commented Olivier Granet, managing director and chief operating officer for AccorHotels Middle East and Africa.

Absolute Share Price Performance Over the Past Week – 29 June-6 July 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.