Courbet, a real estate investment company established by former Orco Property Group founder, Jean Francois Ott, has bought the hotel Christ Roi, a four-star property in Lourdes, France, from a private family.
Courbet, which is listed on the Euronext stock exchange, said the acquisition was driven by the potential of 1.3 bn Catholics worldwide and 4 mln pilgrims who visited Lourdes last year.
Despite its position as France's third-largest hotel market in terms of capacity, Lourdes has a scarcity of notable hotel brands. Faced with this opportunity, Courbet aims to fill this void by acquiring, renovating and repositioning establishments, a strategy that has already proved its worth in Prague, it said.
The Courbet team sees Lourdes as an emerging market similar to Prague, Berlin or Austin in their early days, and is considering several acquisitions and partnerships with various hotel brands, ranging from budget hotels like the Hosho in Cannes to the luxury of a Sofitel Legend in Prague.
Interestingly, the acquisition was supported by the crowdfunding platform La Première Brique, which boasts 2,961 investors and co-financed the Lourdes deal with €2.785 mln - the platform's largest project to date. ‘This was an opportunity for the Courbet Group to share its expertise with a community of investors,’ said Courbet.
The company has been busy acquiring assets ‘affordably’ in major cities. It has been operating mainly in France for the past two years, with five assets in Cannes, La Bourboule, and Chevenoz. Since the end of last year, it has taken control of a hotel in Prague.
One of the board members of the company is director, Emmanuel Blouin, the former Morgan Stanley professional.
The majority shareholder of Courbet SA is OTT Heritage, the holding company of Ott, who began his entrepreneurial career by creating Orco Property Group in Prague in 1990, where he carried out more than 50 real estate operations. Since then, Ott and his companies have completed more than €4 bn of cumulative real estate operations in Europe.
Its new Lourdes asset is in the immediate vicinity of the Sanctuaries and the famous Massabielle Grotto. Carefully managed and maintained by the owner's family for three generations, it extends over 10,000 m2 with 180 rooms, a large restaurant serving traditional French cuisine, a bar, an outdoor terrace and parking for cars and coaches.
As part of its commitment to preserving its heritage, Courbet is modernising the establishment to revitalize it and broaden its clientele to include families and nature lovers. The company pointed out Lourdes, located at the foothills of the Pyrenees, and the surrounding region, has a wealth of nature-based activities.
‘This establishment, steeped in history and emblematic of the town of Lourdes, fits in perfectly with our strategy of upgrading French tourist destinations. We are delighted with the acquisition of this exceptional asset,' said Michael Benmoussa, deputy CEO.
Courbet is already in contact with various hotel partners to manage this new property and make it one of the benchmark products for Lourdes' tourism.
