Belterra Buys the Greek ‘Porto Carras’ Resort for €200M

The complex spans a surface area of 1,763 hectares, including nine kilometres of beaches and 990 rooms distributed across three five-star hotels.

Technical Olympic has agreed to sell the five-star Greek tourist complex Porto Carras for €200 million to Belterra Investments, which belongs to the Ivan Savvidis group, according to Europa Press.

The resort spans a surface area of 1,763 hectares, including nine kilometres of beaches and 990 rooms distributed across two five-star hotels, Melitón and Sithonia, and the luxury boutique hotel Villa Galini. This operation has been advised by the Greek subsidiary of Cushman & Wakefield.

Pierre & Vacances to Increase Revenues in Spain by 50% in 3 Years

28 November 2018 – Expansión

Pierre & Vacances, the vacation apartment, hotel and resort chain, wants to strengthen its presence in Spain with a growth plan over three years, which will allow it to achieve 80 establishments in Spain and Portugal and increase is turnover in the region by more than 50% to around €100 million by the end of 2021, compared to its forecast revenues of €65 million for 2018 and €85 million for 2019.

The French company, which has added six new establishments to its portfolio this year, will add another three properties next year, taking the total to 59 complexes and 5,000 apartments by the end of 2019.

Its plans for 2021 include having 80 tourist complexes in Spain and Portugal, containing between 6,000 and 6,500 units, according to Ghislain d’Auvigny, Director General of Pierre & Vacances in Spain, talking to Expansión.

One of the most recent openings includes Madrid, where the company has just incorporated apartments in the Eurobuilding 2, a building with 123 apartments at number 69 Calle Orense. This represents Pierre & Vacances’s debut in the Spanish capital and it joins other urban complexes that the company already has in Sevilla and Barcelona.

Pierre & Vacances, which arrived in Spain in 2005, employs around 1,200 workers in the country during the high season. “We will continue to take advantage of opportunities and to reach agreements with owners for the management, rental and marketing of complexes”, said D’Auvigny.

In parallel, the company is going to take advantage of purchase opportunities if it finds the appropriate assets, although it will subsequently sell them to third parties, be they funds or individuals, to maintain its policy of not owning any assets itself.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Four Seasons to Invest €600M in a New Resort in Marbella

27 September 2018 – Diario Sur

The Four Seasons hotel chain, one of the world’s leading luxury tourism companies, is preparing to make its debut on the Costa del Sol with a resort in which it plans to invest €600 million. Although this will be the brand’s second project in Spain, given that it has been working on the construction of a 22-room hotel in Madrid since last year, this latest initiative is much more ambitious, both in terms of volume and location.

The resort is going to be built on a plot measuring around 400,000 m2 on the beach front and which occupies land on both sides of the A-7 motorway. It is the last plot of its kind that has not been built on yet in one of the most sought-after parts of Marbella, in the Los Monteros area.

The plot is owned by Villa Padierna, which is, in turn, owned by the Málagan businessman Ricardo Arranz, who has teamed up with the US firm Fort Partners for this development and the Brussels-based real estate firm Inmobel. Four Seasons will participate not only in the management of the hotel, it will also lend its name to the whole development, which will include private residences and villas in addition to a 200-room hotel. The complex will also include restaurants operated by international brands, which will make their debuts in Spain with this project.

It is expected that the urban developments will occupy approximately one quarter of the 400,000 m2 land. The project will be developed by the architect Richard Meier and construction work will begin as soon as the execution has been completed of a partial plan that has already been approved, according to explanations from Arranz.

One of the most notable features being planned is a tunnel underneath the road, which will allow the hotel and the homes that are going to be built to the north of the motorway to have sea views. The corresponding permits for that piece of work have already started to be processed.

Arranz highlighted the transcendence that the arrival of a leading brand such as Four Seasons has for Marbella and the Costa del Sol as a whole. It will be the first firm of its standing to operate in Andalucía and it will play an important role in the battle against seasonality given the large portfolio of clients that it enjoys (…).

Original story: Diario Sur (by Héctor Barbotta)

Translation: Carmel Drake

HI Partners Acquires Remaining 50.1% of Hotel Abama in Tenerife

12 March 2018 – Expansión

HI Partners has been making its first acquisitions since being taken over by Blackstone Real Estate. Banco Sabadell’s former hotel holding company has taken ownership of 100% of Hotel Abama Golf & Spa de Tenerife after acquiring the 50.1% share capital that it did not yet control from the Polanco family.

The company led by Alejandro Hernández Puértolas already purchased 49.9% of the luxury Canarian tourist resort from Tropical Hoteles – a subsidiary of the Polanco’s investment group, Timón – a year ago, and has now become its sole owner.

Luxurious five-star resort

Ritz Carlton is going to continue managing the establishment, which has a luxury five-star rating and 461 rooms, of which 148 are villas. Located in the town of Guía de Isora, the resort was designed by Melvin Villarroel. It spans a surface area of 90,000 m2 and has a two-starred Michelin restaurant run by the chef Martín Berasategui.

HI Partners, which Blackstone acquired last year for €630 million, owns 16 hotels comprising 4,684 rooms, which are operated by chains such as Ritz-Carlton, AC by Marriot, Lopesan and Meliá.

Original story: Expansión (by S. Saborit)

Translation: Carmel Drake

IHP to Build Lanzarote’s Largest Ever Resort

8 January 2018 – IHP Group

International Hospitality Projects (IHP) has recently won an international competition convened by YUDAYA, the parent company of the Hermanos Dominguez enterprise group, to design and construct a Luxury Hotel and Shopping Centre next to Marina Rubicón leisure port, in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote. The hotel will be managed by Barceló H&R under the name Barceló Costa Papagayo.

The key factor in determining the winner of the competition was IHP’s extensive experience in the construction and design of hotels and resorts of different kinds and sizes, as well as its resources and capabilities to carry out the required services successfully.

IHP will provide architecture, engineering and interior design technical services, and will also Project Manage the development, whereby overseeing the hotel and retail project from start to finish, including its legalization and inauguration.

This is a unique project that reflects the architectural tradition of Lanzarote, with an investment of €92M over 3 years to build a construction spanning 100,000 m2 that will accommodate a 720 room-resort and an open-air shopping mall. The hotel will offer 13 different food and beverage spots, a 2,000 m2 convention centre, a 2,000 m2 entertainment theatre, a disco, a SPA and almost 10,000 m2 of swimming pool areas (including the largest pool in Lanzarote). In addition, the Resort will include a Premium area comprising 130 rooms and top range services (…).

Original story: IHP Group 

Edited by: Carmel Drake

Hispania Buys 2 Plots In Canary Islands For €13M

31 July 2017 – Idealista

Hispania is pushing ahead with its strategic plan and, to this end, has completed the purchase of two plots of land on which it will build 2 luxury resorts. The plots of land acquired by the Socimi for €13 million are located in the Canary Islands, specifically, in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.

In addition to hotel resorts, the objective of the investment vehicle, in which the magnate George Soros holds a stake, is to incorporate retail, leisure and sports facilities into the complexes. The project looks set to involve a total investment of around €50 million in the case of Lanzarote alone.

Hispania already owns the Occidental Playa and Barceló Lanzarote hotels, and based on the plans that it has in mind, the five-star complex would contain more than 1,000 rooms, which would make it the largest establishment in Hispania’s portfolio. In Fuerteventura, the Socimi also owns several properties, including two hotels that it purchased in the summer of 2015 for just over €100 million.

Over the last week, Hispania has been in the news for several reasons. Firstly, it is negotiating the sale of 24 office buildings for around €500 million; the insurer Swiss Life is the final candidate in that process.

In addition, the Socimi saw the stock market debut of the investment vehicle that it shares with Grupo Barceló (known as Bay Hotels & Leisure), which started trading on 20 July with a market value of almost €500 million.

Original story: Idealista

Translation: Carmel Drake