The year 2024 marks a significant step forward in Covivio's drive to strengthen its position in the hotel sector. The Group is now entering a new phase in the development of its hotel management platform: the consolidation of the assets held jointly with AccorInvest, scheduled for the end of November, will trigger a change of scale in terms of size and growth momentum. This is an opportunity for Covivio to acknowledge the new dimension of its platform and give it a new identity: WiZiU.

A pioneer in hotel real estate in Europe since 2005, Covivio is strengthening its presence in this sector by evolving its unique profile for a property company: historically a real estate investor and asset manager, Covivio has also gradually become a hotel operator. This evolution towards a more operational model has enabled us to target operations with greater value-creation potential, thanks, in particular, to optimized hotel performance and works programs enabling significant increases in profitability.

In April 2024, the Group acquired a stake in its subsidiary Covivio Hotels[1] , and at the end of November will finalize the consolidation of the assets held jointly with AccorInvest.

Today, the proportion of hotels in the Group’s portfolio is 20% (compared with 15% at the end of 2020), and the proportion of hotels owned through property and business is 38% (at the end of 2024 vs. 62% of leasehold assets). WiZiU’s development is fully in line with this dynamic.

WiZiU, the new name for Covivio’s hotel management platform

WiZiU manages hotels in France and Belgium, either unbranded or under franchise from Accor, Marriott, Hilton or IHG, and is involved in all stages of property management and operation. To date, WiZiU has 10 hotels with a total of 1,150 rooms, located in Lille (x5), Le Touquet, Nice, Rouen and Bruges (x2).

By the end of the year, 14 new hotels will join the platform, following the consolidation of assets held with AccorInvest. WiZiU’s ambition is to support the repositioning of these hotels through rebranding and a targeted investment program. By the end of 2024, WiZiU will manage 24 hotels, with a total of 3,090 rooms and a value of around €500 million.

A strengthened and renewed management team

Against this backdrop, WiZiU strengthens its management team and announces the arrival of Estelle Seguin as Managing Director.

Estelle Seguin has over 20 years’ experience in supporting the development of 3 to 5* hotels in a variety of destinations. Since 2023, she has held the position of Deputy to the President in charge of operations at Groupe INDEVHO (formerly Maranatha).

We are delighted to welcome Estelle Seguin as WiZiU’s Managing Director. Her expertise will be invaluable for the development of our platform and the deployment of our ambitious roadmap. As part of our repositioning and performance improvement plan, having our own management platform is a key asset for our future development Sébastien de courtivron, Covivio’s deputy CEO Hotels

The ambition to unite teams under a common banner

In addition to enhancing the experience within its hotels, WiZiU also has the ambition of bringing together all its teams and staff under a name that expresses its culture and commitments, particularly in terms of human resources. Through its new identity, WiZiU, which will have 1,000 employees by the end of 2024, intends to emphasize the human nature of the hotel business, at a time when the sector is facing major challenges in attracting and retaining talent.

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[1] Covivio Hotels is 52.5% owned and controlled by Covivio.

About COVIVIO

Thanks to its partnering history, real estate expertise and European culture, Covivio is inventing today’s user experience and designing tomorrow’s city. A preferred real estate player at European level, Covivio is close to its end users, capturing their aspirations, combining work, travel and life and co-inventing vibrant spaces. A benchmark in the European real estate market with €23.1 billion in assets, Covivio offers support to companies, hotel brands and territories in their pursuit for attractiveness, transformation and responsible performance. Build sustainable relationships and well-being is Covivio’s Purpose expressing its role as a responsible real estate operator for all its stakeholders: customers, shareholders and financial partners, internal teams and local authorities, as well as future generations and the planet. Furthermore, its living, dynamic approach opens up exciting project and career prospects for its teams. Covivio’s shares are listed in the Euronext Paris A compartment (FR0000064578 - COV), admitted to trading on the SRD and included in the composition of the MSCI, SBF 120, Euronext IEIF “SIIC France” and CAC Mid100 indices, in the “EPRA” and “GPR 250” benchmark European real estate indices, and in the ESG FTSE4 Good, CAC SBT 1.5°C, DJSI World & Europe, Euronext Vigeo (World 120, Eurozone 120, Europe 120 and France 20), Euronext® CDP Environment France EW, ISS ESG, Ethibel and Gaia ethical indices. The share also holds the following awards and ratings: CDP (A), GRESB (90/100, 5- Star, 100% public disclosure), Vigeo-Eiris (A1+), ISS-ESG (B-) and MSCI (AAA).