Fattal Group, owner of Leonardo Hotels UK & Ireland, has acquired the historic Grand Hotel in Brighton.
Financial details were not disclosed.
The group plans to invest in the transformation of rooms and facilities to reinforce the hotel's reputation. The deal follows on the heels of Fattal's purchase of the Dilly hotel in Piccadilly, London.
David Fattal, CEO and owner of Fattal said: 'We are delighted to follow up our acquisition of the Dilly by adding The Grand Brighton to our group, another addition to our growing portfolio of luxury hotels.
'We believe our locations, our strategy and the proven capabilities of our people puts our group in a unique position to leverage and capitalise on the emerging opportunities we see across the UK hotel sector.
'Our vision is to create one of Europe’s best performing hotel groups, where we nurture our talent to be the best, and create exceptional customer experiences.'
First opened in 1864, the Grand Brighton is situated on Brighton’s seafront. The seven floor hotel has 201 rooms, including seaside facing balcony bedrooms and luxury suites, a restaurant and bar and a meeting and banqueting space, providing in excess of 1,200 m2 across 13 rooms. This includes the sea-facing empress suite, which can accommodate up to 900 delegates.
In 2018, Fattal purchased the Midland Hotel in Manchester, and invested in transforming the hotel back into a leading city property.
The Dilly and Grand Hotel acquisitions were undertaken through Fattal’s €400 mln fund, raised in partnership with a number of institutional investors.
In July, it also acquired six landmark hotels in Spain for over €165 mln and recently announced the acquisition of nine hotels in Austria in Vienna, Salzburg and Linz.
Ronen Nissenbaum, CEO of Fattal Hotels in the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal, added: 'The iconic Grand Hotel Brighton is an excellent acquisition for the group, and reflects the ongoing success of our hotels, and very much consistent with our ambitious growth strategy.
'We look forward to working with the Grand team to build on their successes to date and continue enhancing the great experiences and service they consistently deliver to their guests.'
The group's collection of hotels in the south of England includes Leonardo Royal Hotel Brighton Waterfront, The Dilly in Central London, Leonardo Royal Hotel Southampton Grand Harbour, Leonardo Royal Hotels at London City, Tower Bridge, and St Paul’s London, NYX Hotel London Holborn and Leonardo Hotels in Plymouth, Exeter, Brighton and Southampton.
In recent years the Grand has benefitted from significant investment, including a major renovation project, completed in 2019, which saw the Victorian façade of the hotel fully restored, alongside the original design features of the property, including the emerald marble pillars in the lobby and ornate cornices in the bar and restaurant.
Leonardo Hotels currently operates 52 hotels across the UK and Ireland, while Fattal group owns and operates over 200 hotels in over 100 destinations, with plans to rapidly expand its global presence. In Europe it has over 150 hotels across Europe in 86 cities and 14 countries.
The Vendor was advised by JLL and Taylor Wessing LLP. The purchaser was advised by advisors Kattens LLP and KPMG. Savills provided valuation advice.
