Blackstone acquires Village Hotels from KSL

US private equity group Blackstone Real Estate has acquired the mid-market British hotel owner and operator Village Hotels, whose portfolio comprises 33 hotels totalling 4,400 rooms across the UK, from affiliates of US private equity group KSL Capital Partners, for approximately £800 million (£182,000 per room). Village Hotels had initially been put up for sale at roughly £850 million. Following the acquisition, Blackstone is expected to add some 1,200 rooms to the existing portfolio. Blackstone presently has over $339 billion in capital under management, and is the largest owner of commercial real estate worldwide. KSL had $23 billion in assets under management as of December 2023 and owns groups such as Beaumier Hotels, Baillie Lodges and Sereno Hotels.

 

French investor Covivio Hotels and partners have signed a memorandum of understanding with AccorInvest to consolidate ownership of 59 jointly-owned hotel operating companies and property companies. Covivio will thereby acquire 24 hotel OpCos, valued at €266 million, in exchange for 10 PropCos, valued at €208 million. In a separate transaction through two joint venture (JV) entities it holds an ownership interest in, Covivio will swap another six PropCos for the acquisition of 19 OpCos. One JV is 80% owned by Credit Agricole Assurances, whilst the other is owned by Caisse des Depots et Consignations and Societe Generale Assurances. Prior to this consolidation of ownership, Covivio Hotels owned 54 hotels which were let to AccorInvest, whilst the two JVs owned another 60 hotels leased to the French group. Overall, the combined PropCos were valued at €393m, an amount which is said to be equivalent to the value attributed to the OpCos acquired by Covivio and its partners.

 

Fattal acquires the 12-hotel Dutch Zien Group from KSL and Garden Capital

Leonardo Hotels, the European division of Israel’s Fattal Hotel Group, has signed an agreement to acquire the Zien Group, which owns 12 hotels comprising 1,522 rooms across the Netherlands, from affiliates of Denver-based private equity firm KSL Capital Partners and Holland’s Garden Capital Group, which is controlled by Zien Group’s founders, the Dijkstra family. This investment, including acquisition and expected future capital expenditures, reportedly totals €400 million (€263,000 per room). The portfolio comprises five hotels in Amsterdam totalling 771 rooms, with the remaining 751 rooms located in other Dutch cities including Rotterdam and The Hague. The properties are set to be rebranded under the Leonardo Hotels brand following investments aimed at bringing them up to brand-standard and improving ESG efficiency across the portfolio. With this purchase, Leonardo Hotels’ footprint in the Benelux region will increase to 28 properties.

 

Leonardo Hotels acquires The g Hotel & Spa in Ireland from Alanis Capital

Leonardo Hotels has acquired the five-star, 101-room The g Hotel & Spa in Galway, Ireland, from Irish group Alanis Capital, the McCormack family’s property investment vehicle. Alanis Capital acquired The g Hotel and the 97-room Hotel Meyrick Galway in 2019 for over €40 million (€202,000 per room). The hotel was first opened in 2005, and includes two food and beverage outlets, a spa with twelve treatment rooms, a pool, sauna and steam room, and event spaces for up to 300 delegates. The Leonardo Hotels brand is currently present in 19 countries, and its portfolio comprises 193 hotels. Its hotels include three- and four-star properties across three brands: Leonardo, Leonardo Boutique and Leonardo Royal.

 

Hyatt acquires me and all hotel brand from Lindner

International hotel operator Hyatt has acquired the upscale urban lifestyle me and all hotel brand from Germany’s Lindner Hotel Group. The brand, which was created in 2016, currently comprises a portfolio of six hotels totalling over 1,000 rooms in city-centre locations across Germany. The acquisition comes after the Lindner Hotel Group and Hyatt entered into a strategic partnership in 2022 to bring the German group’s hotels into the World of Hyatt loyalty programme, which presently has over 46 million members. The me and all brand sets a focus on sustainability, whilst its properties often involve local partners in food, music and arts to bring a different and unique experience to their hotels. For Hyatt, the brand represents a conversion-friendly development model for which the group expects significant expansion. Lindner will continue to operate the existing me and all properties, with Hyatt diriving the development of the brand through franchise and management.

 

Ennismore acquires Our Habitas brand

Accor’s lifestyle group Ennismore has acquired the luxury, sustainable and experience-driven hospitality brand and operator Our Habitas for an undisclosed amount. The brand will join Ennismore’s portfolio of over 17 hotel and co-working brands, which comprised 139 hotels totalling approximately 30,000 rooms as of December 2023. Our Habitas was founded in 2016 by Oliver Ripley, who will be staying with the brand and overseeing its creative vision following the acquisition. It currently has a portfolio of ten properties distributed across various geographies, ranging from Central America to Saudi Arabia and Africa. The brand is expected to increase its presence in the Middle East and Asia in the near future, with several hotels in the pipeline. In 2022, Ennismore was valued in excess of €2 billion after Accor announced its intent to sell a 10.8% interest in the brand.

 

Firethorne Trust acquires Malmaison York from Lothbury IM

British real estate investor and developer Firethorne Trust has acquired the four-star, 150-room Malmaison York hotel in the UK from London-based real estate investment management firm Lothbury Investment Management Limited. Despite no official comment on pricing, Lothbury’s website states an asset value of £31 million (£207,000 per room) as of 31 March 2024. The hotel is currently leased to Malmaison under a 35-year lease agreement with RPI-linked, five-year rent reviews. With a current yearly rental income of £2.1 million, the transaction would reflect a yield of 6.8% based on a £31 million valuation. The hotel development had been forward-funded by Lothbury in 2018, for a development value totalling £44 million (£293,000 per room), which would have equalled a net initial yield of 4.5% at the time. The property has a restaurant, a rooftop bar, an event space able to accommodate 180 guests, meeting areas and a coworking space.

 

Honotel acquires Aparthotel Adagio Marseille Vieux-Port in France from AEW

French hotel owner and operator Honotel, through its value-add Cap Hospitality IV fund, has acquired the four-star, 142-room Aparthotel Adagio Marseille Vieux-Port in southern France from investment manager AEW. The aparthotel, located within a ten-minute walk of the city-centre and harbour of Marseille, includes rooms which range from 18 sqm to 26 sqm. Following this acquisition, Honotel is expected to refurbish the property’s common areas, whilst updating the room decorations. The hotel is set to reopen in Q3 2024 with the Honotel group’s house brand HappyCulture. This will bring the firm’s hotel portfolio to 47. Over its history, Honotel has completed €700 million in transactions across 77 acquisitions and 36 disposals, with an average leverage rate of 53%.