Hotel industry and travel news from around the European region: Avignon acquires Hilton The Hague, Blackstone sells the Hotel Scandic CH in Gavle, Sweden and more... 

Avignon acquires Hilton The Hague from Hillgate Development 
Avignon Capital, a European real estate investment and asset management firm, has acquired the 195-room Hilton Hotel located in The Hague, Netherlands, for €70.25 million (€360,000 per room), from Hillgate Development and the Bon Groep. The property will continue to be managed by Hilton Worldwide under a management contract. The transaction represents Avignon’s fourth hotel acquisition in the Netherlands and follows their 2017 acquisition of the Hyatt Place Amsterdam Airport, which they also acquired from Hillgate. 

Hines acquires three Cyan Group Hotels in Crete, Greece 
US-based real estate investment firm Hines is acquiring the Cyan Group of Hotels in Greece, from the Kefalogianni family, for €61 million (€88,000 per room). The portfolio includes the 320-room Apollonia Resort & Spa, the 209-room Santa Marina Beach Hotel and the 161-room Sitia Beach City Resort & Spa, all of which are located on the island of Crete. Post-acquisition, the hotels are planned to undergo a €30 million renovation programme.

Blackstone sells the Hotel Scandic CH in Gavle, Sweden 
North American Private equity group, the Blackstone Group, along with its Nordic joint venture partner Areim, have sold the Hotel Scandic CH, some 180 km north of Stockholm in Gävle, Sweden. The buyer of the 186-room property is local hotel investor Västerkulla Hotell, owner of 17 further hotel properties in regional Sweden. The property, which underwent a renovation in 2019, will continue to be managed by Scandic hotels under a long-term lease agreement. 

Reuben Brothers acquire the La Palma Hotel in Capri, Italy 
UK private investors the Reuben Brothers have acquired the 72-room La Palma Hotel on the island of Capri, Italy. The hotel was part of a larger acquisition of RBD Armatori (formerly owned by the Rizzo and De Carlini families), a bankrupt Italian shipping group which also owned the La Palma Hotel and whose debt was owned by US private equity firm KKR. Opened in 1822, the property is Capri’s oldest hotel, and also includes the La Taverna Anema e Core nightclub. Joining the Reuben Brothers’ recent acquisitions in Rome, Mykonos and Ibiza, under new ownership the hotel is set to undergo a full refurbishment.

Art-Invest acquires the Hotel Hanseatischer Hof in Lübeck, Germany 
German hotel investor Art-Invest Real Estate is acquiring the Hotel Hanseatischen Hof in Lübeck, Germany. The 196-room four-star hotel, located near the city’s main train station, is to be refurbished and repositioned under its new ownership. Operated by its former owners until the sale, the property includes 18 meeting rooms including one of Lübeck’s largest event halls, a 2,300 sqm wellness area, as well as three restaurants.

BVK forward-funds the Niu Yen in Hamburg 
Germany’s largest public service group, Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK), is forward-purchasing the Niu Yen Hamburg, Germany, from German hotel developer GBI AG and its Hamburg-based investment company Nord Project Immobilien. The future 347-room lifestyle hotel, due to open in 2022, will be managed by Novum Hotels under a long-term lease agreement.

Concordia Hospitality acquires The Carmelite Hotel in Aberdeen, Scotland  
The 50-room Carmelite Hotel in Aberdeen has been sold out of administration to Concordia Hospitality. The sale of the boutique property has been forced after significant trading difficulties following the decrease in business travellers to the city primarily related to the oil and gas industry, and comes just a few days after the appointment of the property’s administrators, Leonard Curtis Business Rescue & Recovery.

MGM Muthu buys Erskine Bridge Hotel & Spa in Glasgow from Cosmopolitan Hotels 
Indian owner operator MGM Muthu Hotels has acquired the Erskine Bridge Hotel & Spa near Glasgow, Scotland from Cosmopolitan Hotels. The hotel, which opened in 1971, comprises 177 guest rooms, a restaurant, meeting rooms for up to 500 guests as well as a swimming pool and spa area. With this latest acquisition, MGM Muthu Hotels now owns eight hotel properties in Scotland, with additional properties in France, Spain, Portugal, Cuba and India.

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