Bitty. Scrappy. Irregular. Fragmented. Fitful.
Those words might best sum up the European hotel industry transactions landscape across 2023.
“Bid-ask gap” and “wall of capital ready and willing” were popular phrases at industry conferences. Some deals concluded with high price stickers, but overall the industry remains quiet in the transactions market.
A hint of distress came in November with the news that Birch, which has two hotels in South England — one in Cheshunt, the other in Selsdon, just south of London — has placed its Cheshunt hotel into administration and closed its doors to guests.
Here is a monthly rundown of some of the notable 2023 hotel transactions across Europe.
January
The year started well with Davidson Kempner Capital Management concluding a deal for a portfolio of Portuguese hotels valued at €850 million ($929 million), which included 23 hotels acquired from private-equity firm ECS Sociedade Gestora de Fundos de Capital de Risco. One statement emanating from this agreement said the “sale of ECS will make it possible to reduce exposure to troubled assets,” a definite hint of distress.
The Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company acquired for €230 million the majority share of the 253-room Marriott Edition, which sits adjacent to the Harpa Convention Hall & Conference Center in Iceland’s capital Reykjavik, from investment fund SÍA III, controlled by Stefnir Asset Management Company.
London-based investment firm Schroders Capital acquired two Hoxton-branded hotels for €260 million from Sharan Pasricha, the founder and co-CEO of Accor division Ennismore. The purchase price for the two hotels — the 172-room Hoxton Paris and the 111-room Hoxton Amsterdam — is believed to be the biggest per-room price ever paid in Europe for a lifestyle hotel without suites.
February
Middle Eastern hotel firm Jumeirah Group, via its parent company Dubai Holdings, acquired for an undisclosed price the 109-room Le Richemond, a lakeside hotel in Geneva, Switzerland. The hotel, although dating from 1875, currently is closed for renovation before a reopening date of 2025. It is Jumeirah’s fifth hotel in Europe, with two in London and one in Italy and Mallorca. In 2010, Cedar Capital Partners paid £99.6 million ($125 million) to buy the Geneva hotel.
Irish hotel firm Dalata Hotel Group bought the share capital of Furadino Holdings’ Tide Developments project in London for £44.3 million that includes the 191-room Maldron Hotel Finsbury Park that opened in November. Dalata added it financed the deal from “existing cash and banking facilities.”
At the end of February, Henderson Park sold its stake in the 428-room Westin Paris Vendôme to Dubai Holdings in a transaction reportedly valued at €650 million. The two firms created a joint venture in 2018 to buy the hotel from Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC for €550 million, so the believed value is approximately an 18% premium on the sale price five years ago.
In the middle of the month, London-based special-situations investment fund Blantyre Capital and its operating partner, Bath, England-based Fairtree Hotel Investments bought the Edinburgh-based Crerar Hotel Group and its seven hotels for an undisclosed price.
March
Norwegian firm Wenaasgruppen sold its entire portfolio of 10 Russian hotels, nine of which are operated by Raddison Hotels Group, to Russian firm Cosmos Hotel Group for €200 million, but negotiations in that deal likely were tempered by Western decisions to exit a market isolated from international consideration due to its invasion of Ukraine.
May
Geneva, Switzerland-based Stoneweg Hospitality acquired two hotels in Spain from Globalia Business Corporation for €83 million. The properties — the 226-room La Niña in Tenerife, Canary Islands; and 184-room Palace de Muro in Mallorca, Balearic Islands — operate under the brand umbrella of Be Live Hotels.
June
The largest hotel industry transaction in the second quarter did not even feature a hotel, but the headquarters of already mostly asset-light Accor, which banked €460 million by selling its Paris tower of offices to London-based The Valesco Group.
July
Arrow Global acquired three hotels in Portugal from Dom Pedro Hotels & Golf Collection — the Dom Pedro Portobelo, Dom Pedro Marina and Dom Pedro Villamor — as well as five golf courses in a deal reported to be worth €250 million.
Henderson Park acquired the 241-room Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh-The Caledonian from Twenty14 Holdings for £85 million ($107.5 million), according to reporting by CoStar News.
Reig Capital sold for €240 million the 120-room Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona to Saudi Arabian owner Olayan Group. At exactly €2 million per key, the deal is a record price in Spain.
September
In early September, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority completed a deal for 17 hotels in Spain from family-office fund Equity Inmuebles, with a price tag of €600 million. CoStar News reported in 2022 that the sellers were looking for a guide price of approximately €700 million.
October
Warner Leisure Hotels, a firm of adults-only hotels, acquired from public equity firm Blackstone two hotels in the U.K. for an undisclosed price in early October. The first hotel is the 214-room Delta Hotels by Marriott Forest of Arden Country Club, located just east of Birmingham, which includes 10,000 acres of land and a golf course. The other property was the firm’s first purchase in Scotland, the 215-room Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club in Kirknewton, just west of Edinburgh. The latter opened in 1724 and became a hotel in 2009 when it was renovated. It sits on 1,000 acres of land but has two golf courses.
At the end of the month, Rome-based owner Gruppo Statuto acquired the 96-room Six Senses Rome from London-based Orion Capital Partners for €245 million, or €2.5 million per key.
London-based Lifestyle Hospitality Capital bought a majority stake in Irish hotel group Dean Hotel Group, owned by the McKillen family office, which which will retain a share in the firm. The deal was valued at €275 million.
November
In late November, Stockholm-based family investment fund Gelba Fastigheter AB acquired 51% of Host Property AB from Host AB and its parent firm Flying Elephant AS, according to Colliers. Host AB has retained the minority share in the portfolio, which has eight hotels and 967 rooms in the First Hotels brand.
No price was disclosed, but sources stated the portfolio had been valued at 688 million Swedish krona ($66 million). Gelba Fastigheter now has a portfolio of 12 hotels, all in Sweden.
December
On Dec. 1, U.S. ski-resorts owner Vail Resorts acquired the Swiss Crans-Montana ski resort for $136 million. There are no hotels involved in the deal, but there are several immediately adjacent, including IHG Hotels & Resort’s Six Senses Crans-Montana.
On Dec. 4, Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth entity Public Investment Forum acquired a rumored 49% stake in British hotel firm Rocco Forte Hotels, which has 14 luxury hotels in operation and three in the pipeline. The deal is reportedly worth £590 million, which would value the company at £1.2 billion.