HVS EMEA Hospitality Enews - Week Ending 26 February 2010
Posted
Friday February 26, 2010
The latest hospitality news from Europe, the Middle East and Africa
This week Accor has sold five hotels to Invesco Real Estate for a total of €154 million; this transaction will enable the company to reduce its adjusted net debt by €93 million over 2010. The 307 Novotel Muenchen City in Munich, Germany; the 149-room Novotel Roma la Rustica in Rome, Italy; and the 97-room Mercure Corso Trieste, also in Rome, were sold under a sale and variable leaseback agreement for a combined €57 million. The 175-room Mercure Zabatova in Bratislava, Slovakia, which is still under construction, was also sold under a sale and variable leaseback agreement for €17 million. And the 384-room Pullman Paris La Défense in Paris, France, was sold for €80 million. All of the hotels will still be operated by Accor.
The 58-room Sungate Port Royal hotel in the port of Antalya, southwest Turkey, has been sold by Russian real estate company Mirax Group to a consortium of Turkish investors for €190 million.
Wyndham Exchange & Rentals, the holiday exchange and rental arm of US-based hospitality company Wyndham Worldwide, has agreed to purchase Hoseasons Holdings Ltd, an independently owned UK-based provider of self-catering holidays, for approximately US$60 million from private equity firm HgCapital and various individual parties. The sale, which is subject to the consent of the Financial Services Authority in the UK, is expected to be completed in 2011.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ Sheraton Hotels & Resorts brand is to start a strategic expansion this year which will see the addition of approximately 50 new hotels in 15 countries worldwide, adding more than 20,000 rooms to its portfolio. A total of US$4 billion is to be invested in the project which will be carried out over the next three years.
Travelodge has announced that it is to develop ten new properties in England for a total investment of approximately £61 million. London is the location for three of the new hotels (which will be constructed at a cost of £21.7 million) and the northwest city of Manchester will receive two (£13.3 million). The other locations are Liverpool, also in the northwest (£6.9 million); Bristol, in the southwest (£8.5 million); the town of Cannock, in central England (£2.2 million); and the towns of Camberley and Andover, in the south, (£4.9 million and £3.2 million, respectively). Once completed, these new hotels will add an extra 1,133 rooms to Travelodge’s portfolio.
Rezidor Hotel Group is to open hotel number three in Istanbul, Turkey. The 194-room Radisson Blu Hotel, Istanbul is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2011, and will join the 120-room Radisson Blu Bosphorus Hotel, Istanbul and the 326-room Radisson Blu Conference & Airport Hotel, Istanbul. This new-build hotel, which is owned by Turkish construction company Ant Yapi, will be Rezidor’s fifth Radisson Blu-branded property in Turkey as a whole. Rezidor also announced this week that it is to make its debut in Rwanda, central Africa. The 292-room Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre, Kigali, is expected to open in Rwanda’s capital city in 2012.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ Luxury Collection brand made its debut in the UAE this week as the 45-storey Grosvenor House hotel in the emirate of Dubai was welcomed into the luxury fold. The 422-room hotel is now operating as the Grosvenor House, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Dubai. The hotel also comprises a second tower which is still under construction; when this new tower opens in 2011 the hotel’s room count will rise to 745. Dubai is to celebrate another opening next month as Accor is to open its first hotel of 2010 in the emirate: the 280-room Ibis Al Rigga, which will be Ibis number eight for the Middle East.
Thai hotel group Centara Hotels & Resorts has signed a management contract with Egyptian development company the Amer Group for a hotel in Egypt, its third property outside of Thailand. The Centara Grand Beach Resort & Spa Sokhna is scheduled to open in April 2010 on the beachfront at the resort of Ain Sokhna, an hour’s drive from Cairo, with 98 rooms and 21 villas.
Accor has announced that its revenue for the full-year 2009 was €7 billion, a like-for-like decrease of 7.9% on 2008. EBITDAR was reported to be €1.9 billion for the same period, a like-for-like decrease of 12.5% on 2008. Operating profit before tax and non-recurring items decreased like-for-like by 38.0% on 2008, to €448 million; however, this figure was at the upper end of the company’s target for 2009 of €400-€450 million. Accor also announced this week that its board of directors has approved the demerger of the group’s two core businesses (Hotels and Services). A demerger plan is to be submitted to shareholders on 29 June 2010.
Sol Meliá recorded a profit of €38.1 million for the full-year 2009, a 25.6% decrease on 2008. Revenues for the full-year 2009 were approximately €1.2 billion compared to approximately €1.3 billion in 2008, a decrease of 10.2%. EBITDA fell by 21.3% over 2009, to €202.1 million from €256.7 million in 2008.
The upscale urban company In Hotels & Real Estate is planning to invest €20 million in the purchase and conversion of a building in Madrid into a five-star hotel with 50 or 60 rooms. The whole process could take approximately 18 months. Pau Guardans, the owner of In Hotels & Real Estate, also recently acquired the remaining 40% stake in luxury hotel chain Unico Finest Hotels.
With less than two weeks to go to the 2010 International Hotel Investment Forum now is the time to book your place; the conference will take place from the 8th to the 10th of March at the InterContinental Berlin. HVS is one of the sponsors of the event and HVSers attending or participating in the conference include Russell Kett, Charles Human, Chris Martin, Tim Smith and Chris Mumford from London; Philip Bacon from HVS Madrid; and Demetris Spanos from HVS Athens. To book your place or for more information click here.
Millennium & Copthorne - Evolution Securities gave the company a "buy" rating and raised its share price target to 450p from 400p.
Accor - Jefferies gave Accor a "buy" rating and a share price target of €45.
Sol Meliá - Share prices fell despite the fact that tourist arrivals to Spain increased for the first time in 18 months.
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