Tag: AC Hotels

AC to Open an Autograph Hotel in Drago’s Property in Sevilla

14 December 2017 – Expansión

Drago has reached an agreement with AC by Marriott to open an Autograph branded hotel in the former headquarters of Banco de Andalucía in Sevilla, according to market sources.

The hotel, which will have 95 rooms, will be located on Avenida de la Constitución in Sevilla, just 200 m from the Giralda. Specifically, the hotel will occupy six of the eight floors in the building that Drago acquired in a joint venture with a private investor in 2016.

Moreover, the building will house a retail space on the ground floor, which will occupy a gross leasable area (GLA) of approximately 1,800 m2. In total, the building has a surface area of 8,300 m2 and it is being marketing by CBRE Sevilla.

The firm plans to spend €35 million, including the acquisition price, on this project, which will result in the creation of at least 56 direct jobs.

The hotel will be the eighth in Spain to be managed under the brand. Currently, there are four Autograph hotels in Madrid – Santo Mauro, Palacio del Retiro, Casino and Circulo Gran Vía–, as well as the Cotton House (Barcelona), the Palacio de Santa Paula (Granada), the Palacio del Carmen (Santiago de Compostela) and the AC Bacqueira Ski Resort (Bacqueira Beret).

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Merlin Finalises The Sale Of Its Hotels For €500M+

28 December 2016 – Preferente.com

Merlin, a company listed on the Ibex 35, is finalising the sale of its hotels to the French Socimi Foncière des Régions, for a figure that exceeds €500 million. Advised by CBRE, it will be the largest operation carried out by a Socimi in 2016, excluding the integration of Merlin and Metrovacesa.

The portfolio of properties contains 29 hotels operated by different chains, including the Eurostars Grand Marina in Barcelona and the NH Sanvy in Madrid (pictured above). The hotels that share buildings with offices will be left out of the transaction, such as the Eurostars Torre Castellana, which is located in the Torre PwC, and the Novotel de Barcelona, which is next to Capgemini’s headquarters. The hotels have come from corporate operations with Testa and Metrovacesa.

In 2015, Merlin acquired Testa, the real estate subsidiary of Sacyr, for more than €1,790 million. As part of that transaction, it bought 12 hotels, valued at more than €380 million at the time. As a result of the integration of the tertiary assets of Metrovacesa, a deal that was closed this year, another 12 hotels, worth €258 million, were transfered to Merlin. In total, the Socimi has 4,495 rooms, in establishments operated by Barceló, Meliá, AC Hotels, Tryp, Holiday Inn, NH Hoteles and Exe. The Carris Marineda hotel in A Coruña and the Socimi’s 30% stake in Barceló Costa Ballena in Cádiz have been left out of the transaction. Moreover, Merlin already sold off one hotel in Perpignan (France).

The hotels account for around 7% of Merlin’s asset portfolio, worth €9,300 million in total and will generate expected revenues of €450 million following the integration of Metrovacesa approved in September. The properties are home to hotels such as the NH Collection Colón, the Paseo del Arte, Exe Puerta Castilla, Eurostars Gran Madrid, and Barceló Castellana Norte, all in Madrid. In Barcelona, the portfolio includes AC Forum and Tryp Aeropuerto, amongst others. In other locations, Merlin owns the Holiday Inn and Tryp Oceanic, both in Valencia, Playa Capricho (Almería), Costa Park and Tryp Alameda (Málaga), Tryp Jerez, and Barceló Corralejo (Las Palmas).

Original story: Preferente.com

Translation: Carmel Drake

AC Hotels & Sanahuja Family To Re-Open Hotel Illa In August

19 June 2015 – El Economista

The formar Hotel Husa Illa in Barcelona will open its doors again on 1 August, but it will do so under the AC Hotels brand, owned by Marriott. The company, led by Antonio Catalan, has signed a rental agreement with the Sanahuja family, which owns the property (closed since March).

With this opening, AC Hotels takes its total number of hotels in Barcelona to seven, and it expects to continue to grow there in the short term. “Barcelona represents a clear target for the group. We are currently analysing several transactions in the city, but the truth is that it is difficult to find what we are looking for”, explains Catalan.

The new hotel, located in the L’Illa Diagonal shopping centre, will be “the chain’s best hotel in Barcelona”; €5.5 million has been invested on a comprehensive reform of the building.

Following this facelift, the hotel will have 108 rooms (all measuring at least 45 m2), several suites, a gym and three meeting rooms, amongst other facilities.

Crisis at Husa

Before closing its doors, the property was managed by the hotel chain Husa, which is currently facing financial difficulties, since several of its companies have filed for bankruptcy. In fact, at the beginning of this month, the company chaired by Joan Gaspart, presented a proposed agreement, which raised the possibility of repaying its debts through the transfer of some of the assets it still manages.

This crisis was reflected at L’Illa, where the chain accumulated unpaid rent and the hotel was returned to its owners, after an eviction demand was filed. Its closure resulted in the dismissal of 26 employees, who all received severance pay. Nevertheless, Antonio Catalán says that AC Hotels has hired at least ten of the former employees to work at the new hotel, under the terms of the agreement made at the time.

Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla)

Translation: Carmel Drake