Over the course of the last 25 years, Starwood Capital Group has been recognised as a leading global hospitality investor and asset manager for its series of intelligent acquisitions, its complete and comprehensive renovation and refurbishment projects and, most recently, the creation of The Principal Hotel Company.

The process which saw three companies, Principal Hayley, Four Pillars Hotels and De Vere Venues, merge into one, realised annual savings of more than £5 million through head office synergies, invested capex to the value of more than £200 million to date and implemented a three year-long technology overhaul at a cost of around £3 million, culminating in the creation of a leading lifestyle hospitality platform.

In addition to winning the overall award, Starwood Capital Group and The Principal Hotel Company have also been awarded the Re-position Strategy accolade, a sub-category within the HAMA Awards.

Cody Bradshaw, Managing Director and Head of International Hotels at Starwood Capital Group, said: "We are honoured to have won this prestigious award and to be recognised for the remarkable journey undertaken with The Principal Hotel Company. We are delighted to have been able to bring this historic collection of iconic buildings back to life and are grateful for the fantastic support of all those involved."

Speaking on behalf of the sponsors of the award, Pablo Alonso, CEO at HotStats said: "Starwood Capital and the re-positioning of The Principal Hotel Company, is the clearest example of how effective Asset Management, through diverse strategic initiatives, can deliver enhanced revenues and identify cost saving opportunities to maximise profitability, thus generating additional asset value to their owners. At HotStats, supporting operational excellence and a focus on profitability is at the core of our business, and so, we are extremely proud to sponsor this year's HAMA award."

Commenting on behalf of HAMA, Christian Youens, Principal at Cedar Capital Partners said: "When HAMA Europe first introduced the award, we set out to shine a light on projects that demonstrated effective hotel asset management in our industry. Now in its fourth year, this year's submissions have continued to live up to that expectation and in awarding Starwood Capital for its multi-faceted investment to create The Principal Hotel Company, we have an excellent example of asset management and in turn value creation."

Alexi Khajavi, Managing Director of EMEA Hospitality + Travel Group, said on behalf of Questex: "In The Principal Hotel Company, Starwood Capital has created a hospitality offering that is current, relevant and reflective of today's hospitality consumer. The energy and effort required to deliver this project will have been immense and so it feels deserving of this award in reflection of the commitment by the team. We look forward to welcoming Starwood Capital to IHIF next week."

The Hospitality Asset Managers' Association (HAMA) Europe Asset Management Awards are co-presented by HAMA Europe and Questex Hospitality Group and sponsored by HotStats. The Awards will be included in the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) programme through the presentation of the main award in a dedicated session on Monday 4th March at 16:20 and also in a case study analysis of the finalists during a breakout session on Tuesday 5th March at 12.00.

Further information on IHIF can be found at www.ihif.com.

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