Hotel news and transactions from around the European region: Exclusive Collection acquires Ansty Hall in Coventry, UK, Pandox acquires The Queens Hotel in Leeds and more...

Pandox acquires The Queens Hotel in Leeds, UK, from Aprirose
Swedish hotel investor Pandox has acquired the 232-room The Queens Hotel in Leeds in northern England from London-based real estate investor Aprirose for £53 million (£228,000 per room). Aprirose acquired the hotel in 2017 as part of its £525m acquisition of the QHotels portfolio of 26 properties throughout the UK, and then invested a reported £16 million in a major renovation of The Queens Hotel in 2021, upgrading the entire property and adding a further 17 guestrooms. The hotel will now be operated independently under a management agreement by white label London-based operator Axiom Hospitality on behalf of Pandox, with the new owner expecting to earn a yield of 9% on stabilisation.

Dalata acquires first Maldron hotel in London from Furadino Holdings
Ireland’s largest hotel operator, Dalata Hotel Group, has acquired a newly completed 192-room hotel in London from Furadino Holdings Limited for a reported £44.3 million (£231,000 per room). The transaction was conducted as a share deal involving the acquisition of 100% of the share capital in Tide Developments (4) Limited (TD4), which owns the hotel. The property is located adjacent to Finsbury Park Station in London and will launch this summer as Dalata’s first Maldron-branded property in the city. Dalata’s portfolio consists of 50 hotels across the UK and continental Europe under its two main brands, Maldron and Clayton.

Heimstaden acquires “A Place To” in Esbjerg, Denmark, from BIG and Lars Kristensen
Swedish real estate firm Heimstaden has acquired the A Place To co-living development, which includes a 117-room hotel, in Esbjerg, Denmark’s fifth-largest city, from the A Place To Hotels A/S JV between the developers, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and local investor Lars Kristensen. The hotel rooms occupy the top nine floors of the tallest of the three towers. In addition to the hotel, there are 314 rental apartments, a restaurant, cafe, lounge, activity area, cinema and other public spaces for the guests and tenants. Heimstaden, who previously owned half of the JV, has now acquired full ownership and will take over the operations of the residential portion of the property. The hotel and restaurant will continue being operated as they are. The hotel opened in September 2021.

Alfa Leisureplex to acquire The Norfolk Royale Hotel in Bournemouth from Peel Hotels
UK and Ireland-based coach operator Alfa Leisureplex Group has exchanged contracts on the acquisition of the four-star 95-room The Norfolk Royale Hotel in the seaside town of Bournemouth, UK, from UK-based hotel group Peel Hotels. The price has not been disclosed, however the hotel, once the home of the Duke of Norfolk, came to market at £8.5 million in April 2022, having undergone a multi-million pound renovation in recent years. Peel Hotels are disposing of the property to reduce group debt. Alfa Leisureplex will officially take control of the property on 3 April 2023 as the 22nd hotel in the group’s portfolio. This acquisition from Alfa comes after the sale of its previous Bournemouth hotel in 2021. In addition to hotels, the group operates coach tours across the UK and Ireland.

Exclusive Collection acquires Ansty Hall in Coventry, UK, from Macdonald Hotels
English family-owned Exclusive Collection has acquired the four-star Ansty Hall from Scottish hotel group Macdonald Hotels for an undisclosed price. The 62-room hotel is housed in a Grade II-listed Georgian Manor House and is situated on an 8.4 acre site in the UK’s West Midlands, in Coventry, some 26 km south east of Birmingham. Exclusive Collection was founded in 1981 by ex-Forte executive Giuseppe Pecorelli, father of current MD, Danny Pecorelli, with its first hotel being Pennyhill Park in Surrey. Ansty Hall will be the group’s seventh country house hotel and currently includes five function and meeting rooms, a restaurant and a bar lounge.

www.hvs.com