According to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, the €1.5billion of single-asset transactions which have taken place in the first six months of 2003 is the highest volume seen in Europe in the last four years, and represents 94% of the total single asset transaction volume registered in 2002.

"The European hotel investment markets have proved to be surprisingly resilient, despite the fact that operating markets were severely hit by the combination of the Iraq war, SARS, and continued global economic uncertainty," said Nick Marsh, European CEO, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels.

Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels has recorded a record number of transactions so far in 2003, with a spate of deals closing around the mid year, as investors shrugged off the effects of global uncertainties. With several deals currently being negotiated, the outlook for the hotel investment markets in the second half of the year remains promising.



"Although many operating markets remain challenging a number are judged to have bottomed out, and investors consider now a good time to acquire hotel assets, in order to benefit from an uplift in the medium-term. With capital markets in robust health and favourable financing terms available, interest in quality hotel assets in prime locations remains particularly strong," continued Nick Marsh.

The investment markets in Continental Europe have been particularly active, recording approximately 75% of total transactions over €10 million, including the sale of the Ritz Madrid* in April to a joint venture vehicle set up between Orient Express and Omega for €125 million and Le Méridien Barcelona*, which was sold to the German real estate fund Deka Immobilien in January for €86.95 million.

The largest recorded single-asset transaction in Europe so far in 2003 occurred in June, when the Principe di Savoia* in Milan was brought by the Dorchester Hotel Group/ Brunei Investment Agency for €275m. In particular, transaction volume in Spain and Germany in the first half of 2003 exceeded that of 2002. In the UK, investment volume for transactions over €10 million has been relatively low amounting to about €350 million year-to-date (£245 million).

* Sold by Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels.