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The sale of the Hotel Villa Magna suspended

3 September 2015 – El Confidencial

The recovery of tourism, the progressive improvement of the Spanish economy and the desire of  big luxury chains to land in Madrid complicate the sale for Colombian businessman Jaime Gilinsky

In the midst of summer heat, the largest current hotel operation has been cooled. In August, the negotiations Colombian businessman Jaime Gilinski maintained for months with the owners of the Hotel Villa Magna, the Portuguese family Queiroz Pereira, have strained  to the point that they hang by a thread.

As El Confidencial wrote earlier, the main shareholder of Banco Sabadell was in exclusive talks with the Portuguese family regarding acquisition of  the property for an amount close to 190 million euros. However, in recent weeks, the negotiations have run aground, among other reasons, because of disagreement over the final closing figure.

The strong recovery of tourism, the steady improvement of Spanish economy and the appetite of the big luxury hotel chains for expansion in Madrid have changed the rules right at the end of the game.

This disagreement also suspends the landing of a major international operator in the Villa Magna, since Gilinski has been discussing in parallel with the purchasing process of the hotel an alliance with some of the most important hotel chains in the world, with the elite St. Regis as the main candidate to operate the hotel.

Despite the turbulent waters for the operation, being directed by JLL, the selling process is still open, as has been confirmed by the medium market sources, since all of the parties involved have refused to comment .

Other contenders

Aside from Gilinski, US and Arab investors have also shown interest in acquiring the hotel, potential buyers who would also go hand in hand with a major international luxury operator, according to the same sources.

With the purchase of 7.5% of Sabadell, Jaime Gilinski wants to increase his portfolio of real estate investments, a strategy of which this hotel operation is part.

With an estimated by Forbes fortune of 3 billion dollars, Jaime Gilinski has set his eyes on Spain determined to perform major operations. With the purchase of 7.5% of Sabadell, the businessman wants to increase a portfolio of property investments, strategy of which the operation Villa Magna was part.

The Queiroz Pereira family, for their part, bought the hotel in 2001 from the Japanese Shirayama for about 80 million euros. Six years later, and after seeing Hyatt leaving them, the Portuguese embarked on an ambitious project of remodeling the hotel, which has allowed them to establish it as one of the country’s top hotels, as well as profitable business, capable of yielding benefits amid the economic crisis.

Original story: El Confidencial

Translation: Lee La