Investment firm Azora has acquired half of a Greek luxury hospitality group through a new partnership with the Ioannou family, created to invest in hospitality assets.
Azora has invested an undisclosed amount on behalf its funds to acquire the 50.1% equity stake in Donkey Hotels from its existing shareholders. The Ioannou family, represented by Christos Ioannou, who will continue as board chairman, will retain the remaining 49.9% of the business.
Donkey Hotels currently owns and operates five luxury hospitality assets in Greece with a total of 834 rooms, including the Athenaeum Intercontinental Hotel, NEW Hotel, Semiramis Hotel and Periscope Hotel in Athens, and the NOUS Santorini Hotel in Santorini.
The two owners have agreed to invest to help Donkey Hotels carry out its growth plan, which includes upgrading the Athenaeum Intercontinental Hotel, making more investments in its current properties and buying new properties from an identified acquisition pipeline.
Christos Ioannou said: “This is an important moment for Donkey Hotels, as we evolve from a fully family-owned business into an institutional platform with Azora as our strategic partner.
“I want to thank our exiting shareholders for their trust and our entire team for their commitment and hard work. Together, we are opening a new chapter with strong foundations and even stronger prospects.”
Javier Arús and Gonzalo García-Lago, Azora’s hospitality partners, said: “Having entered the Greek hospitality market with the acquisition of the Sheraton Rhodes in 2022 and with Greece’s tourism market going from strength-to-strength, having seen almost 10% growth in international arrivals to over 36m last year, we have been looking for the right opportunity to increase our presence in this important region.
“Our investment into Donkey Hotels provides us with that opportunity. Not only does it allow us to acquire a stake in a high quality portfolio of established hotels that are performing well, it also sees us establish a partnership with a like-minded local partner with a shared ambition to establish and grow a market leading hotels platform in one of Europe’s most important hospitality markets.”
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