Tag: rooms

The Hatchwell’s Socimi Excem Plans a €300M Capital Increase

18 March 2019 – El Confidencial 

The Socimi Excem, which is linked to the Hatchwell family, considers that its particular business model is immune to the new Rental Act. The company specialises in the rental of shared flats to university students and young professionals. As such, its clients are not subject to some of the aspects of the new legislation that are causing the most concern, such as the new contract terms (five or six years) or the limits on avals and guarantees.

Each young person pays the Socimi an average of €600 per month by way of rent and typically stays in the property for less than a year. That allows the vehicle to generate a gross return of 7.46%.

Moreover, in Spain, around 400,000 students have to find accommodation every year and 85% of them want a shared flat, rather than a hall of residence. As such, Excem is convinced that it needs to expand its business model across Spain and, to this end, is planning to undertake a €300 million capital increase this summer to finance that expansion.

Currently, Excem has 42 flats comprising 288 rooms, spanning a residential surface area of 8,000 m2. The company wants to expand to Barcelona and Valencia first, although it also has cities such as Málaga, Sevilla, Bilbao and Vigo on its radar. The aim is to grow the portfolio to include 4,000 beds across the whole Peninsula.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Arha Hoteles Takes over the Management of Hotel Piñamar in Santander

12 March 2019 – Press Release

International hotel property adviser, Christie & Co, has advised on the leasehold sale of Hotel Piñamar, located in Santander. The 3-star establishment has 34 rooms and is located next to the train station, in the fishing district of the Cantabrian city.

The hotel, which has been leased since it was opened to date by the Piña Coterón family, will now be managed by Arha Hoteles, a Cantabrian hotel chain that currently manages four other hotels: Hotel & Arha Spa (in Potes), Hotel Arha Albatros (located in Suances), Hotel Arha Reserva del Saja (in the Natural Park), and Hotel La Casona de Carmona (in the Cabuérniga Valley).

Original story: Press Release

Edited by: Carmel Drake

Invesco & Syllabus to Invest €250M in Halls of Residence for Students

4 March 2019 – Eje Prime

Invesco is teaming up with Syllabus, the subsidiary owned by Urbania, to enter the sector for student residences. Together, the two firms plan to invest €250 million over five years in the construction and purchase of buildings for use as halls of residence.

In total, the alliance seeks to add more than 2,000 rooms to the supply in Madrid, Málaga, Valencia, Barcelona, Pamplona and Salamanca. The current plan involves opening two residences in Madrid in 2020 and one in Málaga in 2021.

Invesco will be the majority shareholder of the investment platform and Syllabus will hold a minority stake. The latter will also promote and manage the halls of residence. Many of the company’s plans involve change-of-use properties, in other words, hospitals and office buildings that will be converted into alternative assets.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Summary/Translation: Carmel Drake

Montebalito’s Turnover Fell by 52% in 2018 & its Losses Amounted to -€2M

28 February 2019 – Eje Prime

Montebalito suffered in 2018. The group recorded losses amounting to €2 million last year, compared with the profit of €948,000 that it obtained in 2017. In parallel, the company’s turnover dropped by 52% to €7 million, according to reports filed by the company with Spain’s National Securities and Market Commission (CNMV).

The decrease in turnover occurred because there were no sales of singular assets in 2018 like there were in 2017, according to Montebalito. “If we strip out the effect of those sales, the group’s turnover rose by 32% YoY, driven primarily by an increase in the sales of developments located in Brazil and Chile”, he said.

Montebalito’s gross asset value (GAV) amounted to €135.7 million at the end of 2018, compared with €144.2 million last year. Similarly, the company has said that the total investment that it has to make for all of its projects in progress amounts to €32 million.

The firm’s investment volume in 2018 was €5.8 million, which represents a 51% increase compared to the previous year. That figure was justified by the acquisition of three plots: one in Madrid, one in Collado Villalba and one in Sevilla, in Isla de la Cartuja, for the construction of a hotel with 92 rooms.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

ASG Joins Forces with Hampton by Hilton to Build a €40M Hotel in Barcelona

27 February 2019 – Eje Prime

ASG is launching a new hotel project in Spain. The group has formalised an agreement to build a Hampton by Hilton hotel containing 242 rooms in Barcelona. Construction work on the complex has already started and is expected to finish in the first quarter of 2021. The project is predicted to involve an investment of around €40 million.

The German manager is going to build the establishment opposite the Fira de Barcelona, in the Plaza Europa business district, according to reports in a statement. Hampton by Hilton Barcelona Fira Gran Vía will operate by virtue of a franchise contract with Borealis Hotel Group, which has signed a long-term rental agreement to operate the new hotel.

This is the third investment made to date in the Spanish hotel sector by funds backed by ASG. Hard Rock International joined forces with ASG in October to open a hotel that the latter is building in a former office building in the museum district of Madrid.

Moreover, ASG is undertaking the renovation of a hotel in the historical centre of Málaga to position it in the luxury segment. The Hampton by Hilton hotel in Barcelona is an investment carried out by ASG’s Iberia Fund I (…).

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

RIU Will Open its Hotel in Edificio España in June with a 65% Occupancy Rate

21 February 2019 – Cinco Días

The work to renovate Edificio España is progressing towards its imminent completion after years of drama involving the historical skyscraper in Madrid’s Plaza de España, constructed between 1948 and 1953. The hotel chain Riu expects to conclude the renovation work in the spring and will inaugurate its hotel Riu Plaza España at the beginning of the summer, most likely in June. The Mallorcan chain expects to open with an occupancy rate of 65% for the first few months of operation, according to explanations provided by sources at the company.

The hotelier expects that half of the guests at Riu Plaza España will be business travellers and the rest tourists. The company chose the 4-star format for this establishment precisely to strengthen its business market, since many companies expressly prohibit their employees from staying in 5-star hotels.

Riu Plaza España is one of the company’s largest hotels, with 585 rooms and the first to operate under the Plaza brand in the city, focused on the urban market. Regarding the provenance of its guests, Riu expects 60% to come from overseas (…).

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Urbania to Open a Hall of Residence for Students in Pamplona

18 February 2019 – Expansión

Urbania is increasing its commitment to halls of residence for students. The real estate firm, through its subsidiary Syllabus, is planning to open a new accommodation block for university students in Pamplona, with 300 rooms and an investment of €17 million. This hall of residence in Pamplona will be added to the group’s other projects in Madrid, Málaga and Valencia. Moreover, the group is analysing new opportunities.

The hall of residence in Pamplona will occupy a plot with a surface area of 8,837 m2. Construction will commence in 2019 and is expected to be completed in 2021. This accommodation is going to be constructed in the area near to the El Sadar stadium, a stone’s throw from the Universidad Pública de Navarra and its sports facilities, the Uned campus and less than 2km away from the Universidad de Navarra campus.

The new hall of residence will comprise six storeys and will have an extensive green area inside. As well as the 300 rooms, it will have several shared kitchens, spaces for study, a gym, a cinema area, a coworking space, leisure areas and a laundry (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Bankinter’s Socimi Negotiates the Purchase of Hotel Meliá Valencia

18 February 2019 – Expansión

Atom wants to strengthen its portfolio with the acquisition of one of the main hotels in Valencia for €50 million.

Bankinter’s hotel Socimi, Atom, wants to strengthen its portfolio and add the Meliá Valencia (formerly the Hilton Valencia) to its list of assets. The property is one of the main hotels in the city, located on Avenida de las Cortes Valencianas, close to the Palacio de Congresos.

Atom, which made its debut on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) in November, is holding negotiations with the fund Colony to purchase the 4-star hotel for around €50 million, according to explanations provided by market sources speaking to Expansión. Those same sources state that, although the negotiations are in an advanced stage, no agreement has yet been reached between the parties.

History

The hotel, located in a tower standing more than 110m tall, was officially inaugurated in February 2008 and has had several owners since then. The establishment, which has around 300 rooms and 21 meeting rooms, with the capacity to host up to 875 people, is managed by Meliá.

Colony purchased this asset along with some other Spanish hotels just a year ago from the investor group Continental Property Investment, controlled by the Lebanese businessman Boutros El-Khouri (…).

With this operation, Atom would increase its portfolio, which currently comprises 21 hotels and 5,232 rooms, with a gross value of €485 million. 82% of the hotels in its portfolio are 4-star properties and 60% are holiday establishments (…).

Original story: Expansión (by R. Arroyo, R. Sampedro & A.C. Álvarez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Iberostar will Add 1,500 Rooms to its Portfolio in 2019

24 January 2019 – Expansión

Grupo Iberostar is continuing with its expansion plans and intends to add seven new hotels to its portfolio this year, containing 1,500 rooms in five countries. The new establishments will open in Palma de Mallorca and Madrid, in Spain; in Monastir and Sousse, in Tunisia, where the Spanish hotel chain already has a presence; as well as in Istanbul (Turkey), Rome (Italy) and Lagos (Portugal), where the group will make its debut.

The company, which opened 13 establishments last year, explained that 2019 is going to be “key” for the consolidation of the projects it has underway in Los Cabos and Litibú (Mexico) and for others, which are more advanced, in destinations such as Montenegro, Aruba, Albania and Cuba.

The chain, which is owned by the Fluxá family, owned 96 hotels around the world containing 31,720 rooms at the end of 2018. In Spain, the company owned 35 hotels and 9,888 rooms at the end of last year.

In terms of operational data, Iberostar closed 2018 with revenues of €2.659 billion, which represented an increase of 9% YoY, and it created around 4,000 jobs (…).

Original story: Expansión (by R.A.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

B&B Sells another Hotel in Spain to the fund Corum for €6.6M

22 January 2019 – Expansión

The French hotel chain B&B Hotels – owned by the fund PAI Partners – has sold a hotel in Viladecans (Barcelona) to the French fund Corum for €6.6 million. It is the chain’s largest hotel in Spain, with 216 rooms.

This operation follows the sale of eight hotels that the company completed last year, also to Corum. Like it did then, B&B is going to continue operating the latest asset under a rental arrangement for at least 15 years. Following the sale, B&B owns just two hotels in Spain, in Oviedo and Barcelona (…).

B&B now operates 30 establishments in Spain and plans to continue growing its portfolio in the country during 2019. Its hotels in the country are owned by funds, Socimis and family offices, such as Corum, Atom, Covivo, Doalca and Azata.

Original story: Expansión (by R.A.)

Translation: Carmel Drake