Canadian asset manager Brookfield Asset Management has acquired Spanish hotel owner and operator Selenta Group for €440 mln, marking the largest hotel investment transaction in Spain this year.
The transaction comprises 2,237 rooms and four hotel assets located in prime destinations. Selenta will continue as operator.
The properties include the 5* Hotel Sofia Barcelona with 465 rooms, operated under the brand The Unbound Collection by Hyatt; the 4* Hotel Expo in Barcelona with 435 rooms; the 5* Hotel Don Carlos Resort & Spa with 299 rooms; and the 5* holiday resort Mare Nostrum Resort, Tenerife, with 1.037 rooms. The latter property is also the largest hotel asset transacted in 2021 in Spain.
Global advisory firm Colliers advised Brookfield on the deal.
Laura Hernando, hotels managing director, Colliers Spain, said: 'This transaction allows Brookfield to acquire a portfolio of quality assets in the main Spanish tourist destinations, as well as a consolidated management platform from which to develop its growth plan in Spain.
'The operation is postulated, for the moment, as the largest volume of the year, surpassing even the purchase by Riu Hotels & Resorts of the minority stake (49%) in its joint venture with the tour operator TUI, still to be formalised.'
July breaks investment records for Spanish hotels
According to Colliers data, investment activity in hotels in July has greatly surpassed the rest of the year. By the end of the month, the hotel investment accumulated in the year stands close to €2 bn.
In July alone, hotel assets for more than €880 mln were transacted, represents approximately 45% of the total hotel investment invested in 2021 to date.
Prime assets in tourist destinations (both urban and holiday) continue to be the star performers. As Colliers anticipated in its hotel investment report for the first half of 2021 in Spain, these have proven to enjoy high liquidity and allow divestments with minimal discounts on pre-Covid valuations.
