Henderson Park and Hines have sold the Grand Hyatt Athens hotel to funds managed by Blackstone Real Estate for €235m.
Henderson Park and Hines teamed up to acquire the hotel in 2017 when it was known as the Ledra Marriott. The duo then embarked on a significant upgrade and repositioning of the asset, capitalising on its heritage as being one of Athens’ top five hotels since its original construction in 1984. The acquisition marked both firms’ entry into the Greek market.
Since its purchase, Henderson Park and Hines have completed an extensive renovation and expansion of the hotel, increasing the number of keys from 315 to 548 by acquiring and converting the adjacent property.
The acquisition by Blackstone represents its tenth hotel location in Greece.
Blackstone said it continues to invest significant capital in leisure through Hotel Investment Partners (HIP), a Southern Europe resort hotels firm owned by funds managed by Blackstone and GIC. HIP will manage the Grand Hyatt Athens property.
James Seppala, head of real estate Europe at Blackstone, said: “Athens is one of Europe’s fastest growing hotel markets and we are delighted to add this unique and newly renovated landmark hotel to our growing hotel portfolio.
“The hotel further complements our ownership of the largest resort hotel portfolio group in Southern Europe, which continues to benefit from a rebound in business travel and tourism, giving us confidence to deploy capital with conviction.”
Christopher Kuhbier, head of investments, Europe, at Henderson Park, said: “The sale of Grand Hyatt Athens marks the successful conclusion to our first investment in the Greek market.
“The extensive renovation and repositioning we have delivered with Hines has firmly established the property as the leading luxury and conference hotel in Athens, leveraging the rich heritage of the hotel itself and the surrounding area. We remain firm believers in the strength of the Greek tourism market, which continues to thrive.”
Paul Gomopoulos, head of Hines Greece, said: “We are proud to have contributed to the evolution of the Greek hospitality market with a new landmark destination for visitors and residents of Athens to enjoy for many years to come.
“The creation of the Grand Hyatt Athens represents the best of Hines as an investor and developer and we remain excited about the future of Greek hospitality.”
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