The owners of Quinta do Lago — the multi-property leisure, residential and golf course resort complex in Faro, Portugal — completed their acquisition of the resort’s 144-room Conrad Algarve, a Hilton-branded hotel that includes 80 residences, two villas, a spa and several restaurants.
Irish businessman Denis O'Brien purchased the Quinta do Lago complex in 1998. This latest deal has O'Brien purchasing the Conrad Algarve from a fund managed by ECS, a Portuguese asset-management firm, the Portugal Resident reports. ECS has been owned by Davidson Kempner Capital Management since 2022.
No price for this deal was disclosed, but CoStar data shows that Davidson Kempner purchased the hotel in a 1,415-room portfolio including eight other hotels for $853,585,082 in 2022.
O'Brien has been showing interest in the Conrad Algarve for months. In August, the Portugal Resident reported he was buying it for "over €100 million." In October, the Irish Times reported he was in the process of acquiring it for €200 million.
Conrad Algarve's ownership history
When Davidson Kempner acquired ECS in 2022, the deal included 23 hotels with a value of €850 million.
That portfolio did include the Conrad Algarve, as well as Portuguese hotel firm NAU Hotels & Resorts, which now comprises six resorts in different areas of the Algarve.
Highgate Hotels and Kronos Asset Management also were part of the joint venture that acquired ECS.
A comment made at that time said that deal would have made “it possible to reduce exposure to troubled assets,” distress reputedly going as far back as the Portuguese monetary crisis from 2010 to 2014.
The entire Quinta do Lago site has 14 acclaimed restaurants and bars, a sports center called The Campus and three championship-quality, award-winning golf courses.
Sean Moriarty, CEO of Quinta do Lago, said that “by incorporating this exceptional hotel, we reaffirm our commitment to setting new benchmarks in luxury and paving the way for the future of high-end hospitality in the Algarve and beyond.”
He said more than €70 million has been invested in maintaining and improving the resort.
ECS’s full name is ECS Sociedade Gestora de Fundos de Capital de Risco.