Tag: establishments

Catalonia Hotels Buys 2 Buildings in Málaga to Convert into 72-Room 4-Star Hotel

25 July 2018 – Press Release

Catalonia Hotels & Resorts has completed the purchase of two buildings in the historical centre of Málaga, whereby expanding its presence in Andalucía. This operation will involve an investment of €24 million, including the acquisition of both properties and the complete renovation of the existing homes. The purchase also involves the operation of 600 m2 of space devoted to retail premises.

The hotel, located at number 5 on the central Calle Puerta del Mar, plans to open its doors in 2020. Its installations will house 72 rooms, a restaurant, bar and fitness area.

This will be the seventh establishment for Catalonia Hotels & Resorts in Andalucía, where it already has two hotels in the town of Ronda, three in the city of Sevilla and one that it recently opened in the centre of Granada.

The company’s expansion department, led by Federico Holzmann, does not rule out continuing to study opportunities in the south of Spain. According to Holzmann, “Andalucía is a very attractive market for us, where tourism is continuing to grow. Towns such as Córdoba, Cádiz and Marbella, where we do not have a presence yet, could be interesting destinations for the expansion of our portfolio”.

At the national level, Catalonia Hotels & Resorts plans to open an establishment soon in San Sebastián and another in Bilbao, in addition to the expansions of its properties in Sevilla (Catalonia Santa Justa) and Menorca (Catalonia Mirador des Port).

In Europe, the chain is going to venture into the Italian market shortly with the upcoming opening of Catalonia Milano Centrale, and in Portugal with a new hotel in Oporto.

The 5 new projects share common traits, given that they will all be 4-star superior urban establishments, located in privileged, central and well-connected areas, and equipped with catering, leisure and wellness areas.

In addition, Catalonia Hotels & Resorts is going to expand its presence in the Caribbean with the construction of a 5-star All Inclusive resort on the Riviera Maya with 434 rooms located on the paradisiacal beach of Costa Mujeres.

Catalonia Hotels & Resorts 

A family run hotel chain founded in 1982 by the Vallet brothers. After starting out focusing on the real estate sector, the company inaugurated its first hotel establishment in 1983 to become one of the main hotel chains in Spain in just a few years. Currently, the company has 69 establishments, located in 22 different destinations: 57 hotels in Spain, two in Brussels, one in Berlin, 8 resorts in the Caribbean (4 in the Dominican Republic and 4 in Mexico) and one urban hotel in the city of Santo Domingo. At the moment, Catalonia Hotels & Resorts is a leading player in Barcelona, where it has more than 3,000 rooms.

Original story: Press Release

Translation: Carmel Drake

Spain’s Competition Authority Approves Minor’s Takeover of NH

21 July 2018 – Expansión

Minor’s takeover of the NH Hotel Group is moving forward. The Spanish National Securities and Markets Commission (CNMV) admitted the offer from the Thai company Minor on Thursday and then, yesterday (Friday), Minor obtained approval from the Spanish and Portuguese competition authorities (CNMC). In this way, the offer is conditioned “exclusively” on its approval by Minor’s General Shareholders Meeting, which has been convened for 9 August. The Thai company currently controls 29.8% of NH’s share capital and, in September, plans to complete the purchase of an additional 8.4% stake from the Chinese firm HNA, which will increase its percentage stake to more than 38%.

The company, which is offering to pay €6.40 per share (€6.30 following the payment of the dividend approved by the General Shareholders’ Meeting) has indicated that its objective involves controlling between 51% and 55% of the Spanish group and for the remaining shares to continue to be listed. If that limit is exceeded, the company will consider making way for the entry of a financial partner in the share capital. Minor has also said that its objective involves increasing NH’s dividend by 50% next year to €0.15 per share.

The Thai group recorded revenues of €1.4 billion in 2017, has a market capitalisation of €3.9 billion and employs 66,000 people. With this operation, Minor will strengthen its hotel presence in America and Europe. Minor has 161 hotels and 20,384 rooms, primarily in Asia and Africa, whilst NH has 382 establishments and 59,350 rooms. Currently, the only markets in which the two chains have a presence are Brazil, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

At the General Shareholders’ Meeting held in June, the Chairman of NH’s Board, Alfredo Fernández Agras, described the offer as insufficient. Moreover, the President of Hesperia and CEO of NH, José Antonio Castro, expressed his criticism of the operation and his dissatisfaction with the Thai group’s entry onto the Board of Directors, where it now has three representatives.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Grupo Hotusa Buys Hotel Eurostars Gran Valencia from Atitlán

15 June 2018 – Expansión

Grupo Hotusa is continuing to increase its portfolio of assets under ownership. The corporation chaired by Amancio López Seijas has purchased the Hotel Eurostars Gran Valencia, which the company has been managing through its hotel chain Eurostars.

The investment firm Atitlán – led by Aritza Rodero and Roberto Centeno, son-in-law of the owner of Mercadona, Juan Roig – was the owner of 66% of the hotel, according to explanations from market sources speaking to Expansión.

The hotel, located in the upper part of Torre Ademuz, has 110 rooms and a 4-star rating. Specifically, the Eurostars Gran Valencia occupies the upper floors of the building located on Avenida de las Cortes in Valencia, between the Palacio de Congresos and the future Nou Mestalla stadium.

Horwath HTL has advised the sales process, which began last year and which has been delayed for months due to the complexity involved.

Other purchases

In addition to the Hotel Eurostars, the building houses two hotels owned by Ilunion, which used to be managed by Accor, as well as a gym and a parking lot.

With this operation, Grupo Hotusa is taking another step in the framework of its expansion and purchasing plan, which extends both nationally and internationally. In this way, in May, Hotusa purchased Hotel Barceló Thalasso, located in Estepona (Málaga) from Sabadell and in March, it acquired the hotels Eurostars Gran Hotel La Toja and Eurostar Isla de la Toja in O Grove, Pontevedra, from Banco Popular.

The hotel consortium created in Barcelona in 1977 closed last year with a turnover of €1.24 billion, up by 15%.

The Eurostars Hotels chain, created by Grupo Hotusa in 2005, has around 100 establishments in large Spanish capitals and other international destinations such as New York, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Naples and Venice. Moreover, the group owns more than 50 hotels through its Exe Hotels chain.

Meanwhile, Atitlán is continuing with the divestment of its hotel properties with this operation. In this vein, a few months ago, it sold a portfolio of six establishments to Atom, the Socimi promoted by Bankinter (…).

Original story: Expansión (by R. Arroyo & A. C. Álvarez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

CaixaBank to Lend €3bn to Hotel Sector

15 March 2018 – Expansión

CaixaBank has declared the hotel sector strategic for increasing its credit investment. Through its new line of business CaixaBank Hotels & Tourism, the entity has just signed an agreement with the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation (Cehat) to make available a specific financing line of €3 billion to its 13,000 establishments over two years.

The bank led by Gonzalo Gortázar closed 2017 having granted €1.5 billion in loans to the hotel sector, where it has a portfolio of 14,000 clients – two out of every three hotels in Spain – and €5 billion in terms of business volume. With the launch of the new division, CaixaBank expects to grow its loans to this segment by 20% during the first year.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lidl Boosts its Real Estate Business with €300M Investment

27 December 2017 – El Economista

Lidl is strengthening its commitment to the real estate sector. The German supermarket chain is planning to invest around €300 million next year (2018) buying up land and stores on/in which to open new supermarkets. Contrary to what most of the distribution sector is doing (the majority of retailers are selling their properties and leasing stores instead so as to focus on their core retail businesses), the German giant is standing firm in its commitment to the real estate recovery in Spain and so will continue investing.

With a current network of 540 stores, the idea is to own the largest possible number of stores. The average sales area amounts to around 1,500 m2, and so Lidl is looking for spaces measuring between 4,000 m2 and 9,000 m2, to allow space for warehouses and parking.

“Although we haven’t set an exact figure yet, the idea is to maintain the same rate of store openings as this year (2017), which means that we would open between 30 and 40 establishments in 2018”, explain sources at the company. Lidl arrived in Spain in 1994 and closed 2016 with a turnover of more than €3.335 billion, which represented an increase of 9.5% compared to the previous year. The company has also consolidated its position as the fifth largest operator in the sector with a market share of 4.3%, behind only Mercadona, Dia, Carrefour and Eroski, according to the latest market research published by the consultancy firm Kantar Worldpanel.

Presence at real estate fairs

Loyal to its real estate strategy, Lidl has already attended the recent exhibitions of the Barcelona Meeting Point fair to search for business opportunities. Moreover, it has decided to diversify its store opening strategy and enter, for example, traditional food markets (‘mercados de abastos’) and shopping centres.

In the case of the first, the German company has committed to opening stores in Barcelona, in the Sant Antoni and Vall d’Hebrón markets, and in Madrid, in the Tetuán market, in a strategy similar to the one being carried out by Mercadona. In the case of shopping centres, it has already opened its first store in this type of space in Islazul, in Madrid. Moreover, as well as new stores, Lidl is also making very significant investments in improving and modernising its existing stores.

Original story: El Economista (by Javier Romera)

Translation: Carmel Drake

More Than 1 Million People Visit Plaza Río 2 In <1 Month

13 November 2017 – Press Release

On its first two days of opening (20 and 21 October), the Plaza Río 2  shopping centre recorded its highest footfall figures, with 86,000 visitors on each day, taking the average entry rate to 6,000 people per hour. 

Plaza Río 2 expects to receive 1,500,000 visitors between Black Friday and 6 January 2018, which marks the end of the Christmas campaign.

The Plaza Río 2 shopping centre is taking stock of its performance since it opened on 20 October 2017. And it is doing so with a round number. In just over 20 days, it has broken the threshold of 1 million visitors. This data reflects the fact that the public like the wide range of possibilities on offer there.

During its first two days of opening (20 and 21 October), it recorded its highest footfall figures, with 86,000 visitors on each one of those dates, which represents a spectacular average entry rate of 6,000 people per hour. Plaza Río 2 opened on a date that was not particularly well suited to trading, given the weather, which makes the 1 million visitor figure even more impressive. If we look at the days of the week that have received the most footfall, Saturdays are the busiest day so far, followed by the bank holidays.

In terms of where the visitors are coming from, it must be said that they are arriving from both sides of the banks of the Manzanares River. Plaza Río 2 represents a breath of fresh air for the area from a commercial perspective and, moreover, has managed to entice people from other parts of the capital. In short, the new public is on the lookout for new leisure spaces. The managers of the centre are very happy with the results obtained so far and state that they hope to receive 1,500,000 visitors between Black Friday and 6 January 2018.

With 160 establishments filling its 40,000 m2 space, the centre managed by the property developer Sociedad General Inmobiliaria de España (LSGIE) offers a unique shopping experience that has been enhanced by a very interesting gastronomic proposal. The Mirador de Plaza Río 2, with the largest restaurant terrace in Madrid (3,000 m2), is home to 9 dining premises, catering for every culinary taste.

With an investment of €200 million and 100% of the stores leased before it opened, the centre has created 1,800 direct jobs and provided employment to 2,000 people during the construction phase. Moreover, it has managed to attract brands that are not typically found in shopping centres, such as the case of Victoria’s Secret, Armani Exchange and H&M Home.

Plaza Río 2 comprises 6 floors, 3 dedicated to shopping, 2 to parking and 1 to dining. Its modern, urban and state-of-the-art style has made it a commercial attraction for visitors to the Matadero and Madrid Río, as well as for residents of Usera, Arganzuela and Madrid centre. Natural light is the main protagonist of the building, which is equipped with the most advanced systems in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability. It has 35 bays for recharging electric vehicles and the building’s lights automatically adjust the intensity of the light they emit depending on needs.

The French property developer Sociedad General Inmobiliaria de España (LSGIE) has been responsible for undertaking this project, which represents its eighth shopping centre in Spain and its fifth in the Community of Madrid, after it first ventured into the capital in 1983 with Madrid 2 La Vaguada.

Original story: Press Release

Translation: Carmel Drake

B&B Hotels Takes Control Of Hotel Group Sidorme

20 October 2016 – Expansión

The French hotel chain B&B Hotels, controlled by the French private equity firm PAI Partners, has acquired the Spanish group Sidorme, which has 1,367 rooms across 15 establishments in Spain.

With this operation, B&B Hotels now controls 19 establishments in Spain. The French group already owned four hotels in Valencia, Alicante, Madrid and Gerona, and plans to open a fifth, in Vigo, at the end of 2016.

The Sidorme brand will disappear and will be absorbed by B&B, which is more widely recognised and has a strong international presence. B&B Hotels manages and operates almost 370 hotels in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Czech Republic and Morocco.

The head of Sidorme until now, Jairo González, who has purchased a minority “but significant” stake in the hotel chain, will be the CEO of B&B in Spain and Portugal.

The Director has explained that the company plans to enter the Portuguese market soon and grow at double digits over the next three years.

The hotel group expects to increase its sales by 49% in 2016, to exceed €15 million. The company, which increased its sales by 45% in 2015, to more than €10 million, tripled its profits during the same period, to generate a net profit of more than €1 million. “The aim is to achieve cumulative EBITDA growth of 30% over the next three years and to double the size of the hotel chain”, said González.

Sidorme was founded in 2014 by fourteen family offices from across Spain, including the New Windows Group, the Del Castillo family, José Manuel Loureda and the Sansalvadó family, who invested around €25 million in total.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake