London-based private-equity firm Henderson Park has sold its stake in the 428-room Westin Paris Vendôme to Dubai Holding for an undisclosed sum that values the hotel at 650 million euros ($658.4 million).
In a news release, Dubai Holding said it has “acquired full ownership of the iconic The Westin Paris Vendôme after acquiring Henderson Park’s stake in the property.” The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In October 2018, Dubai Holding and Henderson Park together acquired the Westin Paris Vendôme from Singapore-based sovereign wealth fund GIC for 550 million euros ($581.6 million). Marriott International operated the hotel when GIC owned it.
The Westin Paris Vendôme — which was built in 1878 — is in the French capital’s 1st Arrondissement beside the Jardin des Tuileries that borders the River Seine.
Dubai Holding added the hotel “will continue to operate in partnership with the Marriott International group under The Westin brand and with the support of (management company) Sophos Hotel. Dubai Holding will soon begin to consider future plans for the property after the Paris Olympics in 2024.”
In Feb. 2022, the Financial Times said the guide price for the hotel would be approximately 800 million euro ($884 million), but acknowledged the property required capital expenditure investment between 175 million euros and 264 million euros to maintain the hotel's luxury status following the pandemic.
Christophe Kuhbier, Henderson's managing director, said the hotel is an irreplaceable property in a landmark location in one of the world’s best hotel cities.
"No matter the market conditions," he said, "[the hotel] constitutes an attractive investment proposition to investors seeking unique assets. We successfully steered the hotel through difficult macroeconomic times and ultimately achieved a positive return for our investors by selling our interest to our joint-venture partner.”
Henderson Park still owns the 1,025-key Le Méridien Étoile, which is the largest hotel in France by room count.
Paris should continue to generate steady tourism demand. Speaking at Accor's recent earnings conference call, CEO Sébastien Bazin said international tourists had returned to Paris, with the French capital being the principal driver of performance across its southern Europe region.