Hotel-hostel hybrid brand Generator Hotels, owned by London-based Queensgate Investments, has completed a €750 million ($802 million) refinancing that executives said will permit the brand to expand.
Executives noted the group has “quadrupled profits in the six years since [Queensgate] acquiring it.”
Currently, Generator has 14 hotels in 12 European cities, with the only city to have multiple properties being Berlin. The brand also has two U.S. properties, in Miami and Washington, D.C. Generator's sibling brand, Freehand, has hotels in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and New York City.
According to a news release on Queensgate’s website, “the refinancing, involving 13 jurisdictions, included European debt facilities, private bonds and U.S. debt facilities. It was backed by Ares Management in Europe and Generator’s existing U.S. lenders, Waterfall Asset Management and Värde Partners.”
In September 2022, Generator x Freehand Hotels, as the combined brands are collectively known, took over management of the 605-room Paramount in New York City, which remains independently branded.
Third-party management very much remains on the firm’s radar.
Earlier in 2022, Queensgate refinanced its two U.S. hotels to the sum of $55 million and all of its then-19 hotels to the sum of €600 million ($642 million).
Queensgate bought Freehand in October 2019 for approximately $400 million from a seller consortium including The Yucaipa Companies and Sydell Group.
The investment firm added in its release that “Generator … recently reported record revenues of €225 million, up from €180 million in 2019, with underlying earnings rising from €50 million to €75 million.”
Jason Kow, Queensgate’s founder and CEO, added “we’re holding the assets because they are continuing to deliver significantly for us, both in terms of earnings and capital values.”