Accor sells two hotels in Lille and Strasbourg

French hotel group Accor has disposed of a further two hotel properties in France with the sale of the Novotel Lille Englois and the Novotel Strasbourg Sud. The buyer is an undisclosed company of recent creation which has just completed a number of acquisitions in France. The companies agreed not to disclose the name of the buyer and the transaction price.

The property in Lille consists of 124 rooms, a bar and a restaurant as well as nine conference rooms and a private parking. The Strasbourg three-star hotel offers 76 rooms, a bar and a restaurant, and four conference rooms. The two assets will be renovated by the buyer and operated with a new brand.

BNP Paribas Real Estate Hotels advised the buyer.

At the end of August, Accor sold a portfolio of 48 hotels spread across France, Belgium and Germany to a joint venture of Crédit Agricole Assurances' Predica unit and Foncière des Murs (FdM) for EUR 367 mln, reflecting a yield of 6.6%.

The portfolio, comprising 31 assets in France, 10 assets in Belgium and a further seven in Germany, was acquired by an 80/20 partnership of Predica and FdM, the hospitality arm of Fonciere des Regions. Main hotels include the Ibis Roissy hotel offering 772 rooms and the Ibis Porte d'Italie in Paris with 257 rooms.

Accor's disposals are part of the French group's strategy to remake itself as a major franchiser and operator of hotels, rather than a hotel owner.