EMEA hotel transactions up 50% in first 9 months of 2013

Hotel investment volumes across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) reached €8.2 bn in the nine months to September 2013, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels & Hospitality has reported.

Single-asset deals secured a 54% share of overall transaction volumes, up 13% on the year-earlier period. The rest came from a number of sizeable portfolio deals which drove transaction volumes up by more than 160%.

The most notable single-asset transactions during Q3 included the sale of the Grand Plaza Serviced Apartments in London to the Federal Land Development Authority of Malaysia for a reported €116.6 mln, followed by the First Hotel Amaranten in Stockholm for €114.7 mln and the Hotel Eden in Rome to The Dorchester Group for €105 mln.

In terms of portfolio sales, private equity firm Gecina sold four Club Med holiday villages for €280 mln as part of the company's strategy to focus on other core business assets, while Spanish-based Derby Hotels Collection bought its remaining 50% stake in the Caesar Hotel in London and the Banke Hotel in Paris for €240 mln from Investment Fund Grupo Metropolis.

The UK remains the most liquid market in EMEA, with investment volumes exceeding €2.6 bn in the year to end-September, representing a 32% share of total transaction volumes, followed by France at €1.5 bn (19%). Dominant investor groups included sovereign wealth funds representing 26% of total investment volumes, followed by investment funds and private equity firms with a 24% share.

Continuing their asset-light strategy of the past decade, hotel operators were the most active sellers during the first nine months of 2013, accounting for a 29% market share of disposals. The €2.3 bn worth of transactions by operators included the sale of 27 Principal Hayley hotels to Starwood Capital, while Tel Aviv-based Fattal Hotels led a consortium of international investors to acquire Queens Moat Houses (Germany).