Brussels Authorises Apollo’s Purchase of 2 Lopesan Hotels in the Canary Islands

The EU Executive has given the green light to the purchase of Hotel Faro and Hotel Buenaventura by the US fund Apollo.

The European Commission has approved the purchase of two Lopesan group hotels in Gran Canaria – the Faro hotel and the Buenaventura hotel – by the US fund Apollo, after concluding that the operation will not have a negative impact on the European economic space, according to reports from Europa Press.

The EU Executive has concluded that the operation does not pose a threat to competition, since its impact on the tourism market will be limited.

Thomas Cook Buys a 252-Room Hotel in Gran Canaria

16 May 2019 – Hosteltur

Thomas Cook has purchased the Sunwing Arguineguin Hotel in Gran Canaria through its hotel investment vehicle, Thomas Cook Hotel Investments (TCHI). The 4-star establishment, which has 252 rooms, is located around 15km from Maspalomas on the south of the island.

TCHI was created in March 2018 to help Thomas Cook accelerate its aims of managing more of its own brand hotels and investing in opportunities arising in Greece, Spain and the Mediterranean. The fund now owns 9 properties, with plans to grow its portfolio to between 10 and 15 by 2021.

Original story: Hosteltur

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Mercadona Buys 7,000m2 of Land in La Montañeta (Gran Canaria) for an Efficient Supermarket

11 January 2019 – La Provincia

The company Mercadona is going to build its second supermarket in the town of Ingenio, in La Montañeta, following the purchase of three warehouses, constructed in 1950, and a plot of land from Agrícola Bonny. The plot has a total surface area of 6,840 m2, with a current constructed surface area of 3,753 m2. It is located between Calle Juliano Bonny Gómez and Calle Sagasta (…).

Sources at the company confirmed yesterday (…) that plans for the creation of a new efficient store have recently been submitted to the Town Hall of Ingenio (…) which will be the second of its kind in Gran Canaria, after the inauguration on 17 December of the first one in the Melenara business park (Las Rubiesas), in the municipality of Telde, with a total surface area of 5,163 m2 (…).

These same sources did not reveal information regarding how much is going to be invested in the new supermarket in Ingenio, or when the construction work will begin (…).

Mercadona has 86 stores in the Canary islands and 34 in Gran Canaria.

Original story: La Provincia (by Marcos Álvarez Morice)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Habitat is Marketing 337 Homes in Madrid, Sevilla & Gran Canaria

10 October 2018 – Eje Prime

Habitat Inmobiliaria is putting new assets on the market. The property developer, chaired by Juan María Nin, has started marketing four developments in Madrid, Sevilla and Gran Canaria, comprising 377 homes in total.

In the Community of Madrid, Habitat has launched the sale of the development Habitat Pintor Velázquez. Located in Móstoles, the urbanisation comprises 82 homes with two, three and four bedrooms, each of which has a terrace, storeroom and parking space.

Meanwhile, in the Sevillan neighbourhood of Dos Hermanas, the company has started to market two developments. The first comprises 87 multi-family homes with two, three and four bedrooms with gardens, games areas, a swimming pool and padel court. The second comprises 78 single-family terraced homes with gardens, underground parking, common areas and a swimming pool.

Finally, in the case of Gran Canaria, the company has launched a development onto the market in the neighbourhood of Guanarteme, in the heart of the commercial district. That project comprises one hundred homes with one, two and three bedrooms, each with a storeroom.

For José Carlos Saz, CEO of Habitat, “this marketing policy strengthens the role of our company in the Spanish real estate sector and our clear commitment to promote the economic development of the areas in which we work”.

These types of operations are added to the land acquisition plan that Habitat launched after being absorbed by the US private equity firm Bain Capital in December 2017. The most recent purchase made by the company this year was at the end of September. As Eje Prime revealed, the real estate company invested €10 million in the purchase of two plots of land in Santander for the development of 62 homes.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

STR & Magma HC: Hotel Investment Continues to Rise in Spain

2 August 2018 – Hosteltur

The Spanish hotel industry has increased its interest in investment due to the strong growth in yields in several markets, and despite the fact that the political scenario in Cataluña has slowed down the performance of the country as a whole. That is according to analysts from STR and Magma HC, who explain that the investment boost has been largely driven by the strength of international demand, even during the financial crisis.

“The increase in holiday tourism, as well as in ‘bleisure’ (business with leisure tourism) has opened the market to numerous development opportunities, with several operators currently working on improving their products and services to satisfy the growing demand”, says Albert Grau, founding partner at Magma HC. Thus, in his words, the Spanish hotel sector “is continuing to boom, despite the challenges ahead”.

In this sense, it is worth remembering that, between March 2015 and March 2018, Spain registered 37 consecutive months of RevPAR (revenue per available room) growth. In recent months, by contrast, there have been marginal decreases, above all due to the slow down in Barcelona, which is home to the largest number of rooms in the country. Even so, according to data from STR, in most of the key domestic markets, including in Madrid, hotel yields are continuing their strong upwards trend.

“Vacation markets, primarily Gran Canaria, have experienced YoY decreases because tourist demand has returned to rival destinations such as Turkey and Egypt”, says Javier Serrano, manager at STR for Spain.

Barcelona

STR’s study shows that, in general, hotels in the Catalan capital have managed to keep their tariffs more or less stable, although there have been more notable decreases in recent times. Following the independence referendum last October, the occupancy rate of establishments in Barcelona fell considerably. During the first half of 2018, they fell by 5.2% with respect to the same period a year earlier, whilst the ADR (average daily rate) fell by 1.4% compared to 2017.

“Although it is still too early to make any kind of prediction about what will happen in the market in the end, it is likely that Barcelona will recover quickly once the situation stabilises”, says Serrano. “Hotels in Barcelona”, he adds “saw constant monthly RevPAR growth rates in the double digits in 2016 and 2017, when the market was still benefitting from strong international demand and demand diverted from destinations such as Turkey and the north of Africa. The recent instability in Barcelona slowed down those previous growth rates, with decreases in occupancy rates driven by the decrease in domestic and international demand, mainly from the USA. Nevertheless, if the market manages to keep tariffs stable, we should see growth to the extent that consumer confidence returns to Barcelona”.

Madrid

Madrid, with the highest RevPAR growth rate in all of Spain in 2017, has benefitted over the last three years from demand due to leisure and corporate business. As well as being one of the main weekend destinations for Europeans, it has also seen an increase in interest from several Asian countries and the USA, especially when it comes to group reservations (…).

The Director-General of STR, Robin Rossman, believes that “there is enormous potential for Madrid’s hotels to continue pushing up rates”. In his opinion, “to the extent that demand continues to grow and the hotel supply market continues to evolve with the arrival of more high-end properties, we can expect to see increases in the ADR”.

Overall, the analysts at STR expect that corporate demand in Madrid will continue to increase thanks to the celebration of international events and the relocation of the headquarters of several companies from Barcelona to the Spanish capital. As such, they forecast ADR growth of close to 3% in Madrid by the end of 2018.

Original story: Hosteltur

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lopesan Sells Another Hotel in Canary Islands to HI Partners for €62.8M

18 April 2018 – Bolsa Mania

Ifa Hotels and Toruistik, whose main shareholder is the Lopesan Group, today closed the sale of the company that owns the Hotel IFA InterClub Atlantic, located in Gran Canaria, to HI Partners for €62.8 million, according to the hotel company.

The Canarian hotel group received cash proceeds amounting to €43.8 million for the operation; the remaining balance of €19 million has been allocated to settle the payment obligations that Ifa Canarias held with the owner company and to purchase minority interests in the subsidiaries, which remain in the company.

With this transaction, Lopesan is going to continue managing the establishment under the umbrella of its new brand “Abora by Lopesan Hotels”. The hotel, located in San Agustín (Gran Canaria) has 420 rooms and registered an average occupancy of 90% in 2017.

HI Partners is going to carry out a comprehensive renovation of the Canary Island hotel to convert it into a flagship resort in the south of Gran Canaria.

The operation follows another one carried out in June 2017 when the firm sold three of its hotels in Spain to the same fund for €104.4 million, and it is the third financial operation in which HI Partners has acquired and entrusted the management of its assets to the Lopesan Group under this brand.

Ifa, a hotel division, which is listed on the German stock market, and in which Lopesan is the majority shareholder, will strengthen the partnership with HI Partners and provide it with own resources to replace its hotel stock with new self-built accommodation products.

In this line, the group is developing a business plan in the Dominican Republic, where it plans to open a 1,000-room hotel next year in Playa Bávaro, in the Punta Cana area, and plans are afoot for the future construction of a second 5-star establishment (with 1,400 rooms).

Original story: Bolsa Mania

Translation: Carmel Drake

CNMC Approves Sabadell’s Sale of Hotel Socimi to Blackstone

4 December 2017 – Eje Prime

The sale of Sabadell’s hotel Socimi has been given the go-ahead. Spain’s National Markets and Competition Commission (the CNMC) has given the green light to the first phase of the sale of Banco Sabadell’s hotel subsidiary, HI Partners, to the US fund Blackstone for €630.7 million.

The operation was agreed in October through the company Halley Hodco, which is controlled by the US investment fund. The sale of the Socimi will generate a net profit of €55 million for Sabadell and will improve its capital ratio by 22 basis points this year.

A few months ago, the Catalan bank engaged Credit Suisse, Citi and JP Morgan to work on the possible IPO of the hotel chain, but in the end, the financial institution decided to completely divest the company.

In addition to Blackstone, the fund Brookfield also bid for the purchase of the company, which was created only two years ago. HI Partners has a portfolio of 29 assets and is worth €1 billion. Its hotels include the Abora Catarina in Maspalomas (Gran Canaria); the Ritz-Carlton Abama and the Jardín Tropical, both in the province of Tenerife.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lopesan Sells 3 Hotels In Canary Islands To HI Partners For €104M

2 June 2017 – Preferente

Lopesan is experiencing one of its most intense moments in its history and proof of that are the recent business operations that the company has undertaken. Specifically, it has purchased a package of more than 12 million shares in the construction company Sacyr (in a surprise move, Lopesan purchased 2.4% of Sacyr for €30 million); in addition, it has sold three of its hotels to the investor group HI Partners for more than €104 million, according to market sources.

The company has sold the following three hotel establishments, although it will continue to manage them: IFA Beach de San Agustín, the IFA Dunamar and the IFA Continental in Playa del Inglés, in Gran Canaria. This sale has already been reported to the German stock exchange.

Although the dates overlap, according to sources close to the Group’s President, the sales operation is not related to the purchase of Sacyr’s shares; “the Group owns lots of hotels that were constructed in the 1970s that need renovating, which means that it will invest the majority of this new capital in refurbishment projects”.

Another major project in which Lopesan is involved is the construction of a tourist complex with more than 1,000 rooms in the Dominican Republic. Specifically, it is working with its German subsidiary, IFA – in which it holds a majority stake – on this project, which forms part of its international expansion strategy and which will be incorporated into its portfolio.

Original story: Preferente

Translation: Carmel Drake

Radisson Wants To Grow In Madrid & Barcelona

30 March 2017 – Expansión

Radisson Blu – the hotel chain belonging to the Carlson Rezidor group, which is itself controlled by the Chinese giant HNA – arrived in Spain in 2009, with the opening of the Radisson Blue Hotel Madrid Prado. Three years later, it opened a resort in Gran Canaria, and just a few months ago it inaugurated its newest hotel in the country, the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, also in Gran Canaria.

Radisson Blu owns almost 300 hotels in 69 countries. Now, the company wants to strengthen its commitment to Spain and to this end, it is analysing Madrid and Barcelona with particular interest, as key destinations for the opening of new establishments under the Blu and Red brands. “Spain represents an opportunity. We perform most of our expansion through management contracts or franchises, which means that we are not interested in leases, however the properties must always be in good locations”, explained Richard Moore, Vice President for Western Europe, the UK and Ireland at Radisson Blu.

HNA Tourism Group completed the purchase of Carlson Hotels last year and so took over control of 51.3% of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, which operates in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, where it competes with NH, in which HNA also holds a stake. (…).

Moore added that the chain has studied options on the Mediterranean coast but that, for the firm to open a hotel, it “has to fit with our brand. We are proud of the way we make our brands fit with the properties and of our relationships with the property owners”.

Specifically, in the case of its most recent hotel in the Canary Islands, the chain has reached an agreement with the Norwegian family group Wenaasgruppen, which owns 24 hotels. It is the second time that the company has worked with the Norwegian group, which also owns the other hotel that Radisson manages in Gran Canaria. (…).

Moore added “There are lots of reasons why we want to have a presence in Spain and, above all, in Gran Canaria”. He said that, in the last twelve months, the number of tourist arrivals in Gran Canaria has grown by 14% and the average revenue per room (RevPar) has risen by 18% – or 15% in the case of luxury hotels -. “25 airlines fly to 142 destinations from Gran Canaria in 25 countries. It is the second most popular destination after Tenerife”, he said.

Brexit

In terms of risks to the business, Moore does not think that Brexit will have a significant impact on tourism in the islands and less so on the hotels that the group manages, which are upscale establishments (five stars) with a very diversified client base. (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Rebecca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

HI Partners Buys Hotel In Tenerife From The Polanco Family

26 July 2016 – Expansión

The founding family of Prisa will use the funds (received from the sale) to reduce its debt with the banks and repay a loan from Banco Santander.

HI Partners is pushing ahead in its offsensive to become one of the largest owners of hotel assets in Spain. The subsidiary of Banco Sabadell has acquired the Hotel Jardín Tropical, located in Costa de Adeje, in the south of Tenerife, from the Polanco family, founder of Prisa.

This is a complex operation that, on the one hand, will allow the repayment of a €20 million loan that the hotel holds with Banco Santander. In parallel, the Polanco family will reduce the bank debt that it holds with several financial institutions, according to sources close to the transaction. This is HI Partners’ second acquisition in the Canary Islands, after it purchased Hotel IFA Catarina in Gran Canaria a few days ago, from the Lopeson group.

Through the investor holding company Timón, the Polanco family controls several hotels, which it operates through My Way. This company will continue to manage Hotel Jardín Tropical, which has 419 rooms and has a 4-star rating. The hotel, constructed around thirty years ago and located on the beach front, was designed by the architect Melvin Villarroel, known for integrating architecture with nature. Thus, the hotel has 12,000 sqm of sub-tropical vegetation and a saltwater swimming pool.

The aim of HI Partners is to renew all of the rooms to modernise the tourist complex, located in Spain’s fourth most important destination by RevPar, the indicator used to measure the profitability of hotel assets. The company led by Alejandro Hernández-Puértolas now has 26 hotels in its portfolio and manages €850 million of Banco Sabadell’s hotel debt.

Original story: Expansión (by S. Saborit)

Translation: Carmel Drake