Blackstone Real Estate has completed the acquisition of Village Hotels from affiliates of KSL Capital Partners.
No financial details were disclosed. However, Blackstone is understood to have paid around £800 million for the hotel owner, operator and developer.
Village Hotels owns and operates 33 assets in large regional cities and suburban areas across the UK. Representing 4,400 hotel keys, it operates as an “all under one roof” leisure destination, offering traditional full-service hotel stays, fitness clubs, food and beverage outlets, and coworking spaces. Village Hotels caters to domestic business travellers, tourists, large groups and local visitors.
James Seppala, head of real estate at Blackstone, said: “We are delighted to add Village Hotels, a standout hospitality brand with a unique business model, to our real estate portfolio. We see great potential in lodging and leisure as a sector, especially where we can support strongly positioned businesses that deliver exceptional experiences to their customers. We look forward to partnering with Village Hotels’ seasoned management team and support them as it embarks on its next stage of growth.”
Gary Davis, chief executive of Village Hotels, said: “With KSL’s support, we have developed a differentiated brand, offering lodging, food, meeting space and health and wellness, "everything under one roof". Each hotel attracts over 4,000 local members to our health and wellness clubs [..] With Blackstone we see great opportunities to expand the number of hotels in the UK and further enhance our existing facilities. ”
Blackstone said it is a long-term believer in the UK leisure sector, driven by consumers’ focus on high-quality experiences and services. In 2021, Blackstone acquired Bourne Leisure, a UK holiday company and owner of Haven Holiday Parks, the largest caravan operator in the UK, and Warner Hotels, the only hotel chain to cater exclusively to adults in the UK. Since acquisition, the firm has invested over £550 million across both brands for site and entertainment upgrades and expansions, growing Bourne Leisure into one of the largest providers of holiday experiences and holiday homes in Britain.
Lazard acted as Blackstone’s lead financial advisor, Santander also acted as Blackstone’s financial advisor and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and DLA Piper served as Blackstone’s legal advisors. Morgan Stanley & Co. International acted as KSL’s financial advisor and Dentons served as KSL’s legal adviser.