Tag: Hilton

BlueBay Signs JV With Nadhmi Auchi To Operate Hotel Miguel Angel

18 September 2015 – Cinco Días

The Madrilenian Hotel Miguel Angel is going to be operated by a prestigious player once more, but not one that has a significant international presence. The hotel chain BlueBay will manage the property from now on, after it reached an agreement with the owner, the Iraqui born Briton Nadhmi Auchi, who has been running the hotel since December 2013, when Occidental Hoteles departed, whereby putting an end to its operations in Spain.

All of the international hotel chains have had their eyes on Hotel Miguel Angel, amongst others, since the Four Seasons announced its arrival in Madrid, in the Canalejas complex, and Mandarin announced its acquisition of the Ritz. In the end, the Spanish firm BlueBay, owned by investor Jamal Satli Iglesias, will take over the management of the property, which has 267 rooms, under an agreement that will involve the creation of a joint venture between BlueBay and Nadhmi Auchi. Together, they will invest around €35 million on the refurbishment. The renovation will be completed over the next few months and will involve the creation of new facilities and the expansion of the gastronomic offer, according to the chain, which aims to convert the hotel into “one of the most emblematic luxury, 5-star establishments in the city and in Spain”, said the CEO of BlueBay, Joaquín Janer.

This operation is BlueBay’s first foray into Madrid – traditionally, the company has a strong presences in the holiday hotel market, but not in the city hotel segment – it owns one 3-star hotel in Barcelona and two hotels in Mérida (one 5-star and one 4-star). BlueBay’s portfolio contains 52 properties across 27 locations. It will soon add eight more assets as a result of its international expansion, which will take place in the Middle East, Latin America and Europe. In April, it announced its expansion into Morocco and it plans to start constructing four hotels in Brazil this quarter.

In Spain, BlueBay is also working to open two other properties, in Marbella and Estepona, in 2018, which will require an investment of around €100 million. The chain, founded in 1976, operates six brands, including the urban specialist BlueCity. The brand used to be owned by Marsans, but following that company’s bankruptcy in December 2009, the businessman Jamal Satli Iglesias acquired it from Posibilitum, in an operation that included the management of 11 hotels. Satli Iglesias also holds a stake in Málaga Football Club, through which he has a dispute pending with its chairman, Abdullah Al Thani.

Renovation of Madrid’s luxury hotels

The refurbishment of Miguel Angel will represent a new boost for the 5-star segment in the capital, following the arrival of Four Seasons, which resulted in a “pull effect” in Madrid for other major international operators. During this time, Mandarin joined forces with the Olayan Group to purchase the Ritz. Despite this, the city’s hotel market is still missing companies such as Hyatt, Kempiski, Hilton, W and Shangri-La, although the details of the Wanda group’s plans for its hotel project at Edificio España have not yet been revealed. One of the most tempting properties for investors and operators over the coming months will inevitably be the Villa Magna, whose owner rejected a purchase offer from Jaime Gilinski in August for €190 million, and the (Westin) Palace. The owners of the latter have set a sales price of €330 million for the establishment.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Laura Salces Acebes)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Hotel Villa Magna On The Market For €180M

2 June 2015 – Expansión

Madrid/ Sodim, the holding company owned by the Portuguese family Queiroz Pereira, is looking for a buyer for the five star hotel it acquired for €80 million in 2001.

Following the sales of the InterContinental and Ritz hotels to the Qatari sovereign fund and the alliance formed by Mandarin and the Saudi firm Olayan, respectively, it is the turn of Villa Magna. Sodim, the holding company owned by the Portuguese family Queiroz Pereira, has put the hotel, which it purchased from the Japanese company Shirayama in 2001 for €80 million, up for sale.

Sodim is asking €180 million for the five star property, located on Paseo de la Castellana. If it achieves its goal, it will become the largest operation to be signed in Madrid, ahead of the Ritz – €130 million – and the InterContinental – €70 million – but behind the €200 million paid by the Qatari Diar fund for Hotel Vela in Barcelona in 2013.

The operation, which is in its initial phases, may attract interest from foreign investors and international hotel groups wanting to improve their location or enter Madrid’s market, such as Hyatt, Hilton, Shangri-La, Kempinski and Jumeirah, amongst others.

Hyatt managed the Hotel Villa Magna for almost two decades until 2009, when following the complete renovation of the hotel, the owners decided to take over the management themselves. Sodim also owns the Hotel Ritz in Lisbon, which is operated by Four Seasons, which is itself finalising its entry into the Spanish market, at the Canalejas complex in Madrid, together with Juan Miguel Villar Mir.

Hyatt no longer has a presence in Spain after it exited the Villa Magna and La Manga (Murcia). Its name has also appeared on the list of candidates to take over the management of the Hotel Miguel Angel, whose future is still not clear. Its owner, the British investor of Iraqi origin Nadhmi Auchi, is operating the property following Occidental’s exit last year.

(…)

The Hotel Villa Magna underwent a major refurbishment several years ago. It closed its doors on 1 August 2007 and reopened again at the beginning of 2009…€50 million was invested in total…the result was a hotel with fewer, but more luxurious rooms. The property retained its distinctive pink granite façade and the number of rooms decreased from 182 to 150. In exchange, the number of suites increased from 18 to 50. It also expanded its gastronomic and leisure offer, with new restaurants and a spa. Since 2009, it has offered rooms measuring between 30m2 and 290m2 – the Royal Suite.

The average room rate at the Villa Magna starts from €310 per night for a standard room. The Royal Suite costs €16,000 per night.

(….) The luxury hotel sector has been hit by the crisis, although the Villa Magna has not suffered as much as some. In 2013, it generated turnover of €19.29 million, up 4.8%…and the net profit was €3.68 million, compared with losses of €14.89 million in the previous year.

Nevertheless, the hotel closed 2013 with negative equity of €33.8 million, due to financial charges and impairment losses. Its financial debt exceeded €70 million. Even though it has the backing of Sodim through equity loans, the auditor PwC warned of significant uncertainty in terms of the hotel’s capacity to continue as a going concern.

Original story: Expansión (by Yovanna Blanco)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Hilton To Double Its Presence In Spain In 3 Years

14 April 2015 – Expansión

Growth / The US hotel giant, which is the second largest chain in the world, operates eleven hotels in Spain and is now backing its own growth in Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla.

Hilton is redoubling its commitment to Spain. The US hotel giant, which is the second largest chain in the world by size (with 4,115 properties and 678,630 rooms at the end of 2013, according to the ranking published by Hotels magazine) manages nine hotels in Spain (66% through franchise agreements).

In addition, Hilton owns two other hotels, which are due to be incorporated into its network imminently, including the Reserva del Higuerón complex (in Málaga). Hilton will take over the reins there this summer and will thereby return to the Costa del Sol after (an absence of) more than 40 years.

“Our model is based on management; investment is undertaken by a partner, and it has been difficult to finance projects in Spain in recent years, but now the market is starting to open up and we have always been very interested in it”, says Simon Vincent, President of Hilton in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and a member of the chain’s Board of Directors.

“The market in Spain is very fragmented, but we believe that opportunities exist for refurbish existing hotels and incorporating them into our network; furthermore prices are beginning to recover”, he adds.

In terms of the numbers, Vincent’s objectives are clear: “Doubling our size in Spain in two or three years would not be unreasonable, since that is what we have done in Turkey”. In Europe alone, Hilton operates 353 establishments and will incorporate a further 447 hotels (into its network) over the next three years. Barcelona and Sevilla are both on its priority list, but its primary focus in Spain will be on Madrid. “We were the first international brand (in Madrid), when we opened the Madrid Castellana Hilton in 1953 (today the Intercontinental) and the capital city is a high priority for the group and all of its brands”, he says.

At this stage, a priori, Hilton has ruled out forming an alliance with a local partner to accelerate its growth, like Marriott did with AC Hoteles in 2010.

Market consolidation

Vincent is very familiar with the travel sector; he has two decades of experience working for groups such as Opodo – today part of the eDreams Odigeo group – and Thomas Cook. He considers that if Spain lacks a large hotel group of its own, then “that is because the market is regional with strong (local) brands, which is precisely one of its strengths”. Nevertheless, “over time, there will be consolidation in the industry and the tour operators will want to participate and control the experience they offer their customers”.

In terms of the emergence of Socimis (Sociedades Anónimas Cotizadas de Inversión Inmobiliaria or Listed Real Estate Investment Companies), which are similar to REITs in the USA, the executive belives that “they may help to professionalise the sector, because that is how the funds that invest in hotels work”.

In his opinion, “the key (to success) in the hotel sector is size at the global level. For Hilton, the most important objective is not to have a presence in as many countries as possible, but rather to bring the greatest number of customers as possible to those countries through our (its own) system”. This is demonstrated by its loyalty program, which has more than 40 million users.

With 12 brands, Vincent argues that Hilton’s success is “based on our ability to convert revenues into profitability and growth, because our brands are in very high demand”. Thus, 19% of the hotels that the chain will open around the world over the next few years will bear one of the Hilton’s own brands. Nevertheless, the door is open to new brands as well. “We think that there is still space (in the market)”.

Over the medium term, Hilton’s route map includes increasing its scale and enhancing its geographical diversification and the appeal of its brands, as well as promoting the digitalisation of its content, and expanding its distribution channels.

Hilton recorded revenues of (US)$10,502 million and profits of (US)$673 million in 2014 and predicts further growth again this year, both at the operational level, as well as in terms of its share price, which is currently trading at $30.38/share. According to Vincent, “we are very happy with our IPO, the foundations of our business are solid and the market acknowledges that”.

Original story: Expansión (by Yovanna Blanco)

Translation: Carmel Drake

The Alexandra Hotel in Barcelona Turns Into a Hilton Establishment

24/07/2014 – Cinco Dias

Located in Barcelona, the four-star Hotel Alexandra will be adopted by the brand DoubleTree by Hilton. The world-wide known chain aims at gaining more ground in the international market and promoting the new trademark.

The Diagonal Hotels will continue to manage the establishment with an objective to “maintain the excellent service quality pooled both by the administrator and the staff”.

 

Original article: Cinco Días

Translation: AURA REE

Hilton, Meliá, Barceló & Kempinski Bid For Miguel Ángel Management

1/02/2014 – Expansion

Fuss on the Spanish hotel market about the future of the Hotel Miguel Ángel in Madrid. The historical establishment, located on the Paseo de la Castellana Street, was left without operator in 2014. Before, Occidental fulfilled that role (…).

Although few asked about the Hotel, the four offers, preceding from two Spanish and two foreign groups, are very serious ones. They come from Hilton, Meliá, Barceló and Kempinski.

For Hilton, the third chain in the world with 4.000 hotels that has been just listed on the stock market, the purchase would be return to Madrid, where the company arrived in 1953 to manage present InterContinental, also on the Castellana Street. Meliá operates 23 hotels in the capital, while Barceló would reach its 2014 target: be in the heart of Madrid. The Swiss chain Kempinski (…) would open the second hotel in Spain (the other one is situated in Estepona).

Rent

The millionaire Nadhmi Auchi, hotel´s owner, obviously has got the last word and he is not in hurry whatsoever. (…) He receives plenty of offers, also from London.

In parralel, the businessman does not deny the possibility to incorporate to his luxury chain Le Royal, present in Luxembourg, Marocco, Tunisia, Liban and Jordan. (…).

Also, Hyatt, that has got no hotel in Madrid, expressed interest in the management. (…).

Miguel Ángel, 5-star and 267-room, requires renovation which might cost up to €30 million. Auchi hopes to share the amount with the new manager.

(…) What is more, the millionaire seeks chain that would also pay a rent. Its last tenant, Occidental, found it too difficult to stay and had to terminate a 25-year rent contract signed in 1999 with Auchi. (…).

Original article: Expansión (Yovanna Blanco)

Translation: AURA REE