Hotel news and transactions from around the European region: Fattal acquires Principe di Lazise Wellness & Spa hotel, Lake Garda, Monthisa sells the Radisson Blu Hotel Madrid Prado and more...

Blasson and Axa acquire the Hotel Sofia Barcelona from Brookfield
Spanish fund manager Blasson along with French insurance company Axa have jointly acquired the 465-room five-star Hotel Sofia Barcelona - Unbound Collection by Hyatt (formerly Princess Sofia) from Canadian investment firm Brookfield. The property is located next to the Camp Nou football stadium on the Pius XII square in Barcelona, Spain, and includes extensive conference space, an outdoor swimming pool and gym. The hotel is currently operated by Hyatt under the Unbound Collection brand. Brookfield acquired the property in September 2021 as part of its acquisition of four hotels (over 2,200 keys) from Spanish owner-operator Selenta Group for €440 million.

Monthisa sells the Radisson Blu Hotel Madrid Prado
The parent company of the Montoro Zulueta family business, investment firm Monthisa, has sold the four-star 58-room Radisson Blu Hotel Madrid Prado for around €26 million (€448,000 per room). The hotel is located in Madrid, Spain, in the centre of the cultural Triángulo del Arte, surrounded by the capital’s main museums, including the Museo del Prado, Spain’s primary national art museum. The property will continue to be operated by Radisson. Formerly the private residence of Spanish nobility, the hotel opened in 2009 and underwent extensive renovations in 2020. The hotel includes a restaurant and terrace, wellness space, indoor swimming pool and six suites.

Fattal acquires Principe di Lazise Wellness & Spa hotel, Lake Garda, Italy, from Bain
Israel’s largest hotel firm Fattal Hotel Group has acquired the four-star 127-room Principe di Lazise Wellness & Spa hotel on Lake Garda in the medieval village of Lazise in northern Italy, for a reported €25 million (€197,000 per room), from Bain Capital. Currently managed by Zeus International, the hotel includes a wellness centre, restaurant, swimming pool and meeting rooms. Bain acquired the property in 2017 as part of the takeover of the Italian subsidiary of Heta Asset Resolution, a “bad bank” formed out of the dismantled Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank. The Lazise hotel was extensively renovated under Bain’s ownership, including an increased number of rooms. Fattal now has five hotels in Italy and 214 overall.

Financière Landowski acquires Hotel Eiffel Blomet Paris
Financière M.P. Landowski, the family holding office of Marie-Pierre Landowski, has acquired the four-star 87-room Hotel Eiffel Blomet Paris in the city’s 17th arrondissement from Schroders Capital, private equity firm EXTENDAM and family office Cèdre. The design boutique hotel includes a wellness space and indoor swimming pool. The hotel opened in June 2017, and Schroders and EXTENDAM acquired the property in 2018 with the Schroders Capital hotels team managing the hotel. Marie-Pierre Landowski is also involved in the river cruise tourism industry in Paris through subsidiaries Vedettes de la Seine and Compagnie des Bateaux à Roue.

Atom Hoteles sells the Hotel Ibersol Antemare in Sitges, Spain
Spanish REIT Atom Hotels has sold the four-star 116-room Hotel Ibersol Antemare, through its subsidiary Atom Hoteles Iberia, for €10 million (€86,200 per room). The hotel is situated in the town of Sitges, near the beachfront, some 30 kms from Barcelona airport, and includes a restaurant, a bar, two swimming pools, a solarium and 12 meeting rooms. The hotel was used as collateral on a €199 million syndicated mortgage loan. Atom Hoteles has proceeded to reduce its debt on the loan through the disposal of the asset. Last December in 2022, Atom Hoteles sold the B&B Hotel Granada Estación for €5.5 million, also acquiring the Hotel Senator Barcelona for €25.5 million in April 2022.

Compagnie Hôtelière de Bagatelle acquires Hôtel de l'Abbaye Saint-Germain in Paris
French hotel group Compagnie Hôtelière de Bagatelle has acquired the historic four-star 44-room Hôtel de l'Abbaye Saint-Germain (the Abbey Hotel) in Paris’ Saint-Germain-des-Prés area in the 6th arrondissement, near Jardin du Luxembourg, for an undisclosed price. The hotel, which includes a restaurant, is housed in a former 17th century Benedictine convent that was transformed into a hotel in the 1980s. This acquisition marks the 7th property in the company’s unique portfolio of boutique hotels, which already includes the 50-room Chess Hotel, 35-room Plumes Hotel, 38-room Hotel Les Theaters, 46-room Platine Hotel, 37-room Vice Versa Hotel and 37-room Le Roch Hotel & Spa, totalling 287 rooms across Paris.

Aprirose acquires Travelodge London Whetstone
London-based real estate investment firm Aprirose has acquired the freehold of the 96-room Travelodge London Whetstone for £10.6 million (£111,000 per room). The hotel is leased to Travelodge with 18 years remaining. Located in the London suburb of Whetstone in the Borough of Barnet, the property includes a retail unit that is currently leased to Halfords with 7.5 years remaining. Aviva Investors Pensions Limited funded and built the hotel to Travelodge’s specifications in 2010. Aprirose has 65 properties in its portfolio, including brands such as Delta Hotels by Marriott, DoubleTree by Hilton and the 20 Qhotels properties.

Salomon acquires the Atenas Hostel in Seville, Spain
The Serra Moreno family investment vehicle Salomon 1965 has acquired the 26-room Atenas Hostel in Seville, Spain, for an undisclosed sum. Salomon plans to reposition the hostel and reopen it in early 2024. The property will be managed by an operator that Salomon typically works with, such as Chic&Basic or Pulitzer. This latest deal follows Salomon’s acquisition of the Hotel Londres in 2022, which it plans to open in April 2024 following a conversion into a three-star hotel. In total, Salomon’s portfolio now includes ten hotel/hostel properties, including owned properties and managed properties under a lease contract.

LaSalle IM acquires Hotel Umma Bed&Breakfast in Barcelona
Fund manager LaSalle Investment Management has acquired a mixed-use property, which includes the three-star 9-room Hotel Umma Bed&Breakfast, in the centre of Barcelona, Spain, for a total of €20 million from an undisclosed family office. Also within the building are several floors of offices and a commercial space occupied by furniture manufacturer Natuzzi. LaSalle is set to invest in the repositioning of the property, including in the hotel. LaSalle also owns the NH Calderón hotel in Barcelona, which it acquired in 2021 for €125 million.

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