Frankfurt-based hotel investment firm Alchemy Step Hotel Group — which has five hotels and approximately 800 rooms — acquired Ghent, Belgium-based FLI Group and with it eight hotels previously owned by Hamilton Hotel Partners.
No financial details were forthcoming.
The new portfolio includes more than 1,000 hotel rooms all located in Belgium. The hotels included are the 66-room Astoria Hotel Antwerp; 140-room Holiday Inn Express Antwerp City North; 89-room Holiday Inn Express Hasselt; 169-room Holiday Inn Gent Expo; 108-room Holiday Inn Hasselt; 128-room Mercure Antwerp City Centre; 214-room Mercure Antwerp City South, and 149-room Mercure Liege City Center.
ASHG is a joint venture between fund Alchemy Special Opportunities and operator Step Partners GmbH, which is also based in Frankfurt and will manage the properties, some of which are planning refurbishments and repositionings.
Steven Lewerenz, partner at Step Partners, said in a news release about the deal that "this acquisition is a significant step forward in our growth strategy, enabling us to expand our footprint and reinforce our leadership in the European hospitality industry."
Step also manages and/or co-owns additional German hotels with ASHG.
All are under Marriott International flags, and include the 118-room Deutz, a Marriott Tribute Portfolio Hotel Cologne; 183-room Moxy by Marriott Bochum and 142-room Courtyard by Marriott Magdeburg.