Europe hotel transactions summary

Brookfield acquires four Selenta Hotels in Spain from Jordi Mestre

Canadian investment firm Brookfield Asset Management has completed the acquisition of a portfolio of four of Selenta Group’s five hotels from Selenta’s owner, Jordi Mestre, for €440 million (€196,692 per room). The transaction, which is Spain’s largest hotel investment deal for the year to date, sees Brookfield acquire a total of 2,237 rooms in prime destinations. The portfolio includes two hotels in Barcelona­—the five-star, 465-room Hotel Sofia, which is operated as part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection under a franchise agreement, and the four-star, 435-room Hotel Expo—as well as the five-star, 299-room Don Carlos Resort & Spa in Marbella and the five-star, 1,037-room Mare Nostrum Resort in Tenerife. Under considerable pressure due to the pandemic, Mestre also sold his Nobu Hotel Barcelona earlier this year, but has retained the Selenta Expo Hotel in Valencia, which was excluded from the deal with Brookfield.

Castlelake to acquire major stake in Spanish hotel investment company Millenium

Castlelake L.P. is set to acquire a stake of up to 49.9% in Millenium Hotel Real Estate, the Spanish-listed real estate investment company that specializes in luxury properties in Spain and Portugal, and currently has a portfolio of ten hotel assets. The listed market capitalization of the company is currently around €250 million, giving Castlelake’s stake a value of some €124.75 million.
Castlelake’s investment will make it Millenium’s largest shareholder and will allow the private investment firm three seats on its board of directors. Millenium has stated that its hotel portfolio, which includes properties in Madrid, Alicante, Sevilla, Bilbao, Córdoba, Alcaides and San Sabastian, should be valued at around €500 million once fully redeveloped.

GBI forward-sells IntercityHotel Lübeck, Germany to Commerz Real

German real estate investment fund Commerz Real AG has acquired the IntercityHotel Lübeck development in Germany for an undisclosed amount from developer GBI. The 176-room property was acquired through Commerz Real’s Luxembourg-based company CR Fund Management S.a.r.l. Construction on the property is due to complete in 2023, and the hotel will be operated by Deutsche Hospitality under a 20-year lease agreement. The acquisition is part of a continued collaboration between Commerz Real AG and Deutsche Hospitality to invest in European hotel properties through the Commerz Real European Hotel Fund, an open-ended alternative investment fund with a desired fund volume of €250 million. Earlier in the year, Commerz Real AG completed the acquisition of two IntercityHotel developments in the Netherlands, a 115-room property in Leiden and a 174-room property in Breda.

H.I.G. acquires the Swissôtel le Plaza in Basel, Switzerland from Credit Suisse

American private equity investment firm H.I.G. Capital has acquired the Swissôtel le Plaza in Basel, Switzerland from Credit Suisse’s Real Estate Fund Hospitality for an undisclosed sum. The 238-room, four-star property is the private equity firm’s first hotel transaction in Switzerland. Currently managed by Accor, the property is set to be rebranded as a Marriott following an extensive renovation.