Barceló Buys Spain’s 5th Largest Tour Operator

11 January 2016 – Expansión

The travel division of the Barceló Group has acquired all of the shares in Spain’s fifth largest tour operator, Special Tours, which specialises in tours of Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, Africa and Oceania, as it continues progressing with its plans to internationalise and strengthen its position in Latin America.

The Mallorcan group, which did not disclose any of the financial details of the operation, will incorporate Special Tours’ entire workforce, comprising 300 employees. It will also maintain the company’s current operations, which are headquartered in the Ciudad de la Imagen in Madrid, as well as its management team, led by Carlos Jiménez (pictured above), who will continue to be the CEO of the company after the integration.

The Barceló Group has said that this operation, which is pending approval by the corresponding regulatory bodies, forms part of the company’s commitment to product specialisation and internationalisation and goes some way towards fulfilling its objective of becoming a major player in the Latin market.

In this sense, the Barceló Group said that Special Tours has been operating in every country in the Latin American market, where it plays a very important role, for more than 30 years.

Focus on Latin America

The Corporate Director General of the Barceló Group’s travel division, Alejandro Subías, said that the operation represents a “significant” boost to the firm’s strategic plan and allows it to continue its commitment to consolidating its position in Latin America.

“With the integration of the team led by Carlos Jiménez, we are continuing to grow, complementing and strengthening our current product portfolio, and to offer even more travel options and experiences to our clients, which is the real raison d’être of our group”, added the director.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

El Corte Inglés Leases Iconic Titania Building To EY

27 November 2015 – Expansión

El Corte Inglés has signed a lease contract with the consultancy firm EY, which will occupy the eleven floors of office space in its iconic building, Torre Titania. The property is located in the centre of Madrid on the site of the former Torre Windsor, which burnt down in 2005.

The tower, which forms part of the El Corte Inglés commercial complex on the Castellana, is 111m tall and has 27 floors, five of which are dedicated to underground parking, with another four used for technical aspects (lift machinery, air treatment units, fans, etc..).

The first seven floors above ground were opened in 2011 as the retail area of El Corte Inglés on the Castellana, whilst the remaining eleven floors are reserved for office use and were put on the market for both lease and sale.

According to a statement by EY on Wednesday, the new offices will house its 2,000 employees in Madrid. It added that Titania is one of the most modern and efficient buildings in the capital from an energy perspective.

The property, also known as Torre Azca, is located in the financial district of the same name, says EY, which expects the relocation of its headquarters in Spain to be completed during the first few months of 2017.

It was vital for José Luis Perelli, the President of EY in Spain, to find new headquarters for the company given the growth of its workforce, which will amount to almost 3,000 employees by the end of the year, compared with 2,300 at the end of 2014.

Original story: Expansión

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