Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and London-based real estate investment firm Cain International have jointly invested $900 million (€872 million) into ultra-luxury hotel group Aman to support the group’s “global expansion of ultra-luxury hotels and branded residences, enhance existing properties and support the acquisition and development of new locations.” The transaction values Aman at approximately €3 billion. Currently, the group has 34 hotels across 20 countries, 12 of which include branded residences, plus another nine properties in the pipeline in markets that include Saudi Arabia, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Europe and the United States.

Privately owned Crimson Hotels has purchased the five-star 131-room Trafalgar St. James Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton in London from London & Regional (L+R). The hotel includes several restaurant and bar outlets, including a rooftop bar with views overlooking London and a new dining option opening on the ground floor to be operated by a high-end Asian restaurant group. The acquisition is Crimson Hotels’ second Hilton Curio Collection acquisition, alongside the 100 Queen’s Gate Hotel in South Kensington. The group currently has 10 hotels across the UK, Portugal and Dubai, ranging from limited service to luxury hotels.

Berlin-based hotel operator HR Group has acquired the branding and operation rights of 23 European hotels from Austria-based Amedia Hotels, making up approximately 3,000 rooms, for an undisclosed sum. Half of the hotels are in Germany, with the remainder in Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. Twelve of the properties’ real estate ownership will remain with Amedia founder and previous owner, Udo Chistee, under his AHC International Consulting company. Prior to the acquisition, HR Group had 80 hotels in 50 locations in six countries, with some 12,300 rooms. The group has partnerships with Accor, Vienna House, Wyndham, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott International, Deutsche Hospitality, Dorint and IHG.

Owner of the Premier Inn hotel brand, Whitbread, has acquired a central London freehold site for a new £200 million project (including construction and related development costs) from Indian real estate group ABIL, which had acquired the site in 2018 for a reported £90 million. The site is centrally located on London’s Strand, near Charing Cross Station, The National Gallery and Trafalgar Square. The new hub by Premier Inn is expected to open some time in 2027, including the group’s popular Bar+Block steakhouse restaurant. The hub by Premier Inn brand was first introduced in 2014 and currently has 13 hotels (2,431 rooms) across Edinburgh and central London, with a significant portion of the brand’s future pipeline located in London.

German fund Patrizia has acquired two Student Hotel-branded properties in Barcelona, with a total of 635 rooms, as part of a portfolio transaction, from The Student Hotel (TSH). The price was reported as €110 million (€173,000 per room), providing Patrizia with an annual return of 4%. The 97-room hotel “Poble Sec” and the 538-room “Marina” boast amenities such as a gym, a lounge, meeting rooms, a lecture theatre and rooftop swimming pools. The acquisition comes at a time when the Barcelona City Council has begun limitations on any new student residences with a cap of 350 units and with all new properties to be built outside the designated city centre area. Amsterdam-based TSH blends hotel and student residence concepts, providing additional public coworking spaces, bars, meeting rooms and events. The group currently has a presence in fifteen major cities in Europe.

London-based hospitality group Edyn has acquired the NH Kensington Hotel for an undisclosed sum, set to be converted into a 121-room aparthotel under the Locke lifestyle brand. This will be the sixth property in London to be operated under Edyn’s Locke brand, and it is scheduled for opening in June 2023, featuring a hybrid of bedroom layouts, a bar, a restaurant, private gardens and co-working and meeting spaces. The Locke brand was launched in 2016 and currently has 12 aparthotels across London, Cambridge, Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin. Edyn had secured £105 million of funding earlier this year to accelerate its European expansion plans.

Aerospace company BAE Systems has sold the forward contract on a two-property hotel portfolio, containing the 262-room ibis Budget and the 280-room Holiday Inn, Manchester Airport, to an unnamed UK institution, for approximately £42 million (£77,000 per room). The two new hotels are adjoined to the new Terminal 2 at Manchester Airport and are located conveniently to the Old Trafford stadium, the Etihad football stadium and the city centre. Both hotels are due to open in the second half of 2022 and will form part of a cluster of nine new properties, including the UK debut of Accor’s lifestyle Tribe brand which is expected to open in early 2024.

The 72-room five-star Fontecruz Lisboa Hotel on Avenida da Liberdade in central Lisbon has been acquired by one of Mozambique’s most successful businessmen, Carlos Camurdine, from Spanish chain Fontecruz Hotels, for €42 million (€583,000 per room). The hotel is located on one of the most expensive avenues in the capital city, Avenida da Liberdade. The Autograph Collection hotel opened in 2012 and has an interior garden, fitness club and restaurant. Camurdine apparently has plans to change the hotel name. Fontecruz Hotels was founded in 2004 in Spain and is present in Seville, Granada, Toledo, Avila and Lisbon.

German real estate investor LHI Leasing GmbH has sold two former NH Hotels, in Groningen and Sprang-Capelle in the Netherlands, to private investor Bulten Vastgoed and the Van der Valk family, respectively. The 66-room full-service NH Groningen was acquired for €7.6 million (€115,000 per room) and is set to be renovated in the coming months. The 120-room Van der Valk hotel was acquired for €8.9 million (€74,000 per room) and is currently a shelter for Ukrainian refugees. The plans for extensive renovations are set to be completed in April 2023, but have been delayed for the purpose of using the hotel as a shelter.

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