Funds managed by Blackstone Real Estate have acquired the Grand Hyatt Athens for €235 mln from international investors Henderson Park and Hines.
Located on Syngrou Avenue near Athens’ popular Koukaki district, the property has been extensively renovated.
Henderson Park and Hines acquired the property as the 315-key Ledra Marriott in June 2017 having identified an opportunity to undertake a significant upgrade and repositioning of the asset. The acquisition marked both firms’ entry into the Greek market.
Since its purchase, the two firms have increased the number of keys to 548 through the acquisition of the adjacent property, which allowed for an extension to the existing building.
In addition to upgrading the rooms and suites, the common areas and amenities were transformed including the roof-top restaurant and pool, which offers panoramic views of the city and world-famous Acropolis. The final product also offers 4,400 m2 (47,000 ft2) of meeting and conference space.
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.'
The acquisition of the landmark hotel by Blackstone represents its tenth hotel location in Greece. Blackstone continues to invest significant capital in leisure through its portfolio company, Hotel Investment Partners (HIP), a major owner of resort hotels in Southern Europe.
Since acquisition, it has invested over €750 mln in strategic asset management initiatives to reposition its portfolio. Founded in 2015, the company is owned by funds managed by Blackstone and GIC, and has a portfolio of 73 leisure assets totaling more than 22,000 keys across Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal.
Christopher Kuhbier, head of investments, Europe, at Henderson Park, commented: '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.
'The transaction underlines our continued conviction in the hospitality sector and demonstrates our ability to create value for our investors. We are pleased to now pass on the stewardship of this fantastic property to Blackstone and to be working with them again.'
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.'
HIP will manage the property.
JLL and Eastdil Secured jointly advised on the sale.
