Spanish real estate investment trust Azora has bought four adjacent buildings in Brussels, two of which currently operate as hotels, for an undisclosed price. The deal is the firm’s third hotel transaction in 2024.
The two hotels, both located on the pedestrian Rue du Berger, are the 51-room Hotel Le Berger and the 34-room Jardin Secret Hotel.
According to CoStar data, the April 2024 price for the portfolio of properties was £15.4 million ($19.6 million). CoStar data suggests the other two buildings included in Azora's latest acquisition are not part of that portfolio price.
The Madrid-based firm said it now intends to combine the four properties to open a hotel-hostel with 99 hotel rooms and 130 hostel beds, according to a company news release. The operator will be Azora’s in-house division Latroupe. Latroupe operates eight properties with approximately 1,600 beds in Barcelona, Bilbao, Brussels, Dublin and Madrid.
Concha Osácar, founding partner at Azora, said the acquisition of the Brussels portfolio is part of Azora’s “efforts to pioneer a new category of alternative hotel establishments, which combine a 4-star hotel service with the social vibrancy of a premium hostel.”
Azora has funded its recent acquisitions via its €815 million ($880 million) Azora European Hotel & Lodging fund, which Azora founded in 2021 for hotel and hospitality investment.
In May, Azora acquired two Jacobs Inn hostels in Barcelona and Dublin, which combined contain 85 rooms and 557 beds. The REIT did not reveal the acquisition price for the Barcelona and Dublin hostels at the time of the transaction.
Then on May 28, Azora purchased for an undisclosed price the Marriott Praia d’El Rey hotel in Óbidos — 50 miles north of Portuguese capital Lisbon — from Oxy Capiral/Fondo Aquarius. The hotel also comes with two 18-hole golf courses.
Azora now has more than 12,000 keys under management.