French listed property giant Foncière des Régions has strengthened its position in the German market with the acquisition of five hotels representing an investment amount of €125 mln.
The deal cements FdR's partnership with Spanish listed operator NH Hotels following the acquisition in 2014 of the NH Amsterdam Centre hotel in the Netherlands. The transaction reflects a yield of 4.6% and a net margin of 25%.
FdR is now acquiring five 4-star NH hotels located in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Oberhausen and Stuttgart. The Madrid-based hotel operator will continue to manage the properties with a new lease term of 20 years after closing of the deal, which is planned for next year.
The hotel portfolio provides a total of 900 rooms in buildings built or renovated after 2004. FdR said it plans to refurbish one of the hotels, the NH Nuremberg, to position it as NH Collection Hotel, NH Hotel Group's upper upscale brand.
The transaction follows FdR's sale last week of its entire healthcare portfolio to French asset manager Primonial for a price of €301 mln.
The German hotel deal is part of FdR's strategy to focus exclusively on its core activities, namely offices in France and Italy, hotels in Europe and residential in Germany.
In 2014 the company completed the sale of its virtually its entire logistics package across a number of transactions including the disposal of €473 mln of assets to Blackstone.
Following the latest disposal, FdR's non-strategic activities comprise only 4% of a total portfolio valued at €18 bn, according to a company spokesperson. They consist of car parks, four remaining logistics assets, and the French residential portfolio.
