Tag: Ritz-Carlton Abama

CBRE: Hotel Investment Plummets by 55% in H1 2018 to €960M

6 July 2018 – Eje Prime

Investment in the hotel sector is dropping down a gear in Spain. Despite the significant growth in tourist rates, investment in the Spanish hotel sector fell by 55% during the first half of 2018 with respect to the same period last year, down to €960 million.

Assets for vacation use accounted for 78% of the total amount disbursed in the sector, which continues to be one of the most sought-after in the world, according to a report from CBRE.

Data from the consultancy firm also highlight that institutional investors are responsible for the majority of the market, accounting for 43% of the spending in Spain between January and June, followed very closely by the hotel groups themselves, with 40% of the market. Family offices only accounted for 12% of operations.

With respect to the first half of 2017, the main changes that CBRE has noted in its report about hotels is the decrease, of up to 90%, in terms of investment undertaken in Barcelona and Madrid. This fact has resulted from a significant decrease in capital investment in urban assets, which decreased from 54% last year to 22% during the first half of this year.

Moreover, three-quarters of the transactions that were undertaken during the first half of 2018 corresponded to the sale and purchase of individual assets, compared with 25% of operations that involved portfolios.

The main investments signed in the Spanish hotel market were Portfolio Alua, for an approximate sum of €165 million; the Ritz Carlton Abama and the Costa del Sol Princess, whose amount was not disclosed; and the €63 million that was disbursed for IFA Interclub Atlantic.

“Interest in the Spanish hotel market has not diminished but it is true that the increase in asset prices and the shortage of opportunities is shifting the focus of investors to secondary destinations, which, also, have performed extremely well in recent months”, explains Jorge Ruiz, National Director of Hotels at CBRE in Spain.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Blackstone & Brookfield Submit Bids To Buy HI Partners

5 October 2017 – Eje Prime

Sabadell may be selling off its hotels. The Catalan bank has received two offers from two international investment funds to divest its hotel chain, HI Partners. The interested parties are Blackstone and Brookfield, who have submitted bids to purchase all of the assets owned by Sabadell’s subsidiary.

HI Partners has been preparing its debut on the stock market, for which it has engaged Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and Citi. With a value of €1,000 million and another €850 million of debt under management, Sabadell was committed to listing the company on the stock market this year. But according to El Confidencial, that decision could now be up in the air.

The bank chaired by Josep Oliu has been running the hotel chain for the last two years, under the leadership of Alejandro Hernández-Puértolas and Santiago Fisas. Its portfolio comprises around thirty hotels, including The Ritz-Carlton Abama and the Jardín Tropical, in Tenerife, and the recently inaugurated Hotel Axel, in Madrid.

A year ago, the subsidiary of Sabadell purchased three hotels in the Canary Islands from Grupo Lopesan, in a three-way operation with the construction company Sacyr and the island-based holding company.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

The Polanco Family Sells Ritz-Carlton Tenerife To HI Partners

21 April 2017 – El Confidencial

The Polanco family has resorted to selling the jewel in the crown of its personal wealth, the luxury Ritz-Carlton Abama resort in Tenerife, to obtain some financial breathing space in order to try and balance out its complicated economic situation.

According to real estate sources, the former majority shareholder of Grupo Prisa has reached an agreement with the hotel group HI Partners (HIP) to sell 49.99% of the listed establishment for almost €50 million, a quantity to which another €25 million of investment will have to be added to expand the hotel’s facilities with its residential complex. Sources at Timón, the holding company of the editorial giant, have acknowledged the transfer, but have not revealed details of any amounts or commitments.

As El Confidencial revealed several weeks ago, the problems of Prisa, whose shares are trading at their lowest value for a year and a half, have been transferred to the Polanco family, who has requested help from its creditor banks in light of the difficulties it is facing to meet its loan obligations. Its request has been answered by Santander and CaixaBank, its two primary lenders.

To this SOS, a new loan amounting to €60 million has just been agreed, which forms part of the sales operation to HIP. According to sources familiar with the deal, Sabadell, the owner of HIP, has granted this 18-month loan, with the aim of enabling the Polanco family to put its accounts in order.

Once that period has elapsed, and provided the loan has been repaid or transferred to another entity, HIP will acquire 49.99% of the luxury resort, an operation that, between the sales value and the money to be allocated to new investments, would mean that Prisa’s shareholders will obtain another €75 million.

In the event that the Polanco family breaches that obligation during the 18 month period, the hotel chain will not become a shareholder of Ritz-Carlton Abama and the financial problems of the giant will get worse, given that Sabadell would increase its list of creditors to include the aforementioned €60 million. (…).

With losses of €7.5 million at the end of 2015, the most recent period for which figures are available, and sales of €55.25 million, this luxury tourist resort comprises the five-star Ritz-Carlton Abama hotel, a residential development where 148 villas are planned and Abama Golf, a 72-hole golf course. (…).

HI Partners owns 31 establishments and manages €850 million of hotel debt on behalf of Banco Sabadell. Moreover, a year ago, the firm signed an alliance with the giant Starwood Capital Group, to create a joint venture aimed at investing €500 million over the next three years.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake