Tag: holiday hotels

Azora Buys Hotel Pez Espada & Hotel Riviera in Málaga from Med Playa

9 May 2019 – Diario Sur

The Azora group has purchased the iconic Hotel Pez Espada in Torremolinos and Hotel Riviera in Benalmádena from Med Playa, as part of a larger operation involving seven establishments located in Benidorm and along the Costa del Sol.

In total, the investment group has added 1,670 rooms to its portfolio as a result of the transaction and it expects to invest €30 million in the repositioning of the seven hotels. The chain Med Playa will continue to manage all of the properties for a period of up to 35 years.

Hotel Pez Espada has 235 rooms, a 4-star rating and was refurbished by Playa Med as recently as 2017. It was inaugurated in May 1959 and was one of the first establishments to be built on the Costa del Sol at the start of the tourist boom. Its clientele included Ava Gardner, Sophia Loren and Brigitte Bardot, amongst others.

Meanwhile, Hotel Riviera, which is also a 4-star property, is located next to Puerto Marina, serves adults only and has a sauna, spa, restaurants, gym and solarium.

From this operation, it is clear that Azora is committed to investing in tourist destinations with assured success, such as the Costa del Sol and Benidorm. It is currently creating a new fund to invest in holiday hotels along the Mediterranean and in hostels in the main European tourist cities.

Original story: Diario Sur (by Pilar Martínez)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

JLL: Real Estate Investment Rose by 45% in 2017 to €14bn

11 January 2018 – El País

The volume of real estate investment in Spain broke records once again in 2017, closing the year at €13.989 billion, up by 45% compared to 2016, according to data from the international real estate consultancy JLL. And investors were not averse to any of the market segments, although two really stood out in 2017. On the one hand, the retail sector (stores and shopping centres), which saw investment of €3.909 billion, up by 31% compared to 2016 – that represents a historical figure thanks to the 35 operations that were closed during the year. And on the other hand, investment in hotels, which increased by 75% with respect to 2016.

Not even the political crisis in Cataluña deterred hotel investment from beating its own record by the end of 2017, with investment of €3.907 billion, representing an increase of 79% with respect to 2016 and comfortably exceeding the historical record set in 2015, when investment amounted to €2.614 billion, according to the study of this market conducted by the consultancy firm Irea. And that despite the slowdown in Cataluña, where no transactions have been closed since the referendum was held on 1 October. Nevertheless, “the impact of the uncertainty in Cataluña will make it hard for the investment data seen in 2017 to be repeated”, says Miguel Vázquez, Partner in the firm’s Hotels division.

For the time being, the incessant arrival of tourists in Spain (the country welcomed more than 82 million foreign visitors in 2017, almost 10% more than in 2016) is continuing to spark investor interest. In fact, in 2017, investment in holiday hotels comfortably exceeded financing in the urban segment (69% vs 31%), rebalancing the trend seen in 2014 and 2015.

Moreover, destinations that had remained quiet following the crisis were revived. Málaga rejoined the list of investors’ preferred destinations, accounting for 15% of total investment with 18 transactions amounting to €516 million. The Canary Islands retained its position as the favourite investment destination, accounting for €939 million of investment, representing 27% of the total volume. Madrid was the main destination for urban investment once again, with €637 million (including existing hotels and the acquisition of properties to convert them into hotels), ahead of Barcelona, which recorded €422 million.

Last year in Spain, 182 hotels were sold, containing 28,813 rooms, compared with 147 hotels and 21,646 rooms in 2016. That represented an increase not only in terms of the number of assets but also in the average price paid per room, which amounted to around €119,000, approximately 30% higher than the average price paid in 2016. In 2017, conversion projects and transactions involving land for the construction of hotels recorded a combined investment volume of €478 million, representing an increase of 139.8% compared to 2016, according to Vázquez.

Offices and residential assets

Offices were the third favourite assets for investors, accounting for investment worth €2.210 billion. Nevertheless, it was the only segment that recorded a decrease in absolute terms with respect to the prior year, with investment in this asset class falling by 20%. That reduction was driven by data in Madrid, given that investment in the Spanish capital fell by 38% with respect to the previous year – €1.374 billion – whilst in Barcelona, the investment volume amounted to €835 million, equivalent to an increase of 60%. Nevertheless, according to Borja Ortega, Director of Capital Markets at JLL, “that decrease was not due to a decline in investor interest, but rather a lack of product on the market and the fact that the previous two years saw record-breaking figures”.

Investment in land also stands out, since it amounted to a record volume of €109 million in Barcelona and €193 million in Madrid; moreover, that trend is expected to continue in 2018.

But it was investment in the residential sector – the purchase of entire buildings and land – that really soared in 2017. It amounted to €2.082 billion, which represented an increase of 160% with respect to the €802 million recorded in 2016. In Cataluña, residential investment amounted to 145% to reach €444 million.

Original story: El País (by S. L. L.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

CBRE: Hotel Inv’t Reached Record Figure of €3.75bn in 2017

29 December 2017 – Europa Press

Investment in the hotel sector in Spain grew by 83% in 2017 compared to the previous year, to reach a total transaction volume of €3.75 billion, according to data from the consultancy firm CBRE Hotels.

The cumulative figure represents a historical record in the Spanish market, exceeding the previous record set in 2015. The increase is primarily due to strong demand from investors to buy and capitalise hotel assets, whereby taking advantage of the economic and real estate recovery in Spain.

According to CBRE Hotels, 190 hotel assets were sold in Spain in 2017, up by 23% compared to 2016, which represented an increase of 25% in terms of the number of rooms sold (28,000). Moreover, a further 2,200 future rooms were also sold last year in buildings and projects still under construction.

The most sought-after hotel assets were 4-star establishments, accounting for 42% of all investments.

The Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands accounted for almost 40% of all investments

In terms of the main investment destinations in the hotel sector, the Canary Islands (21%) and the Balearic Islands (18%), together with Madrid (17%) led the ranking, followed by Barcelona and Málaga. The most significant changes compared to 2016 were seen in Barcelona and the two island regions, which went from accounting for 36% to 15% in the case of the former and from 24% (combined) to 39% in the case of the latter.

In terms of the type of properties, holiday hotels accounted for 60% of the total compared with 40% urban properties. On the other hand, buyers invested in individual assets in 60% of cases, rather than in portfolios (40%).

Regarding the type of buyers or investors that acquired the most hotel assets last year, including not only hotels but also tourist apartments, aparthotels and land and buildings destined for hotel use, institutional investors participated in 55% of operations, followed by private entities and family offices, with 22% of transactions, and other hotel chains, with 21%.

Main operations

The largest operation of the year involved HI Partners, the hotel platform that Banco Sabadell recently sold to Blackstone for more than €630 million. The change of owner of Edificio España also hit the headlines – it was acquired by Riu Hotels & Resorts for €272 million. And finally, the Wave portfolio, owned by Starwood Capital and Meliá, comprising 4 hotels in Lanzarote, Ibiza, Torremolinos and Mallorca, was sold in the middle of the year to London & Regional Properties, on advice from CBRE (…).

“The excellent performance of the main tourism markets and the excess liquidity in the capital market have led to a historic year with more than 150 transactions and where institutional players have been the protagonists once again”, explained the National Director of CBRE Hotels, Jorge Ruiz.

Moreover, he added that “the outlook is very positive and we expect to see more concentration in the market in 2018 and a renewed interest in the tourism industry in our country”.

Original story: Europa Press

Translation: Carmel Drake