Jersey-based private equity investment manager ActivumSG Capital Management (ASG) has inked a deal to acquire and develop the last seafront plot zoned for a hotel in metropolitan Barcelona, representing a total investment of €200 mln.
The firm revealed it had signed Hard Rock International to operate the new luxury hotel, located beside the Fòrum beach and marina in Sant Adrià del Besòs.
Construction of the 504-room hotel is scheduled to start in the second half of 2019 for an opening in early 2022. Hard Rock International will operate the hotel under a long-term management agreement.
'This signature investment, to be operated by such a renowned hospitality brand, amps up our hotels strategy in Spain,' said Saul Goldstein, ASG’s founder and managing partner.
'It’s involved almost two years of work to secure the site, get zoning and work up a design for a hotel that works for the municipality and Hard Rock International.'
The 31,000 m2 Hard Rock Hotel Barcelona is part of a broader strategy of developing hotels in major tourist and business travel destinations in Spain where the offering has not kept pace with strong visitor growth, ASG said.
It follows an announcement in February that ASG signed Hampton by Hilton under a franchise for a hotel in southwest Barcelona, and October’s agreement with Hard Rock International for a hotel in Madrid’s Museum District. The fourth investment in the strategy concerns the comprehensive repositioning of a hotel in Málaga’s historic centre.
Hard Rock Hotel Barcelona will provide more than 2,000 m2 specifically for business meetings and events. Each guest room will have private, ocean-facing balconies, while the rooftop terrace will feature a swimming pool and bar.
'We are excited to be working with ASG once again on our second joint project in Spain,' said Todd Hricko, senior vice president and head of global hotel development at Hard Rock International. 'Hard Rock Hotel Barcelona will set the bar for a new level of hospitality, dining and entertainment amongst the buzzing Barcelona hotel scene.'
Hard Rock Hotel Barcelona is an investment by ASG’s fifth real estate fund, which has committed 85% of the €489 mln of equity raised by its final close in January 2018.
