Hotel Investment Partners, a hotel investment company owned by Blackstone Group, has announced the acquisition of six hotel properties in Italy and plans to invest €85 mln to redevelop the asset over the next few years.
HIP, which was founded by Banco Sabadell in 2015 and bought by Blackstone two years later, said that the acquisition is the first in Italy by the group and adds a total of 1,900 rooms to its portfolio including 65 hotels with 19,345 rooms in Spain, Greece and Portugal.
The seafront hotels are located on the islands of Sardinia and Sicily and are namely Cala Blu, Marmorata and Agrustos, in Sardinia, and Brucoli, Constanza and Pollina in Sicily. HIP has signed a strategic agreement with the Mangia family's Resort by the Sea (formerly known as Aeroviaggi), a major Italian resort owner and operator, to reposition the properties in the upper luxury segment. The Mangia family will remain as operator and shareholder.
Marcello Mangia, Chairman of the Mangia Group commented: ‘I am proud and honored to announce this joint-venture with such a prestigious partner as HIP. Aeroviaggi, recently renamed Mangia's, Resort by the Sea, will maintain its strategy underpinning a significant participation in the joint-venture and managing all the assets in the portfolio. This agreement is a fundamental step towards achieving the ambitious growth objectives of our group, aimed at repositioning assets in the high-end leisure segment, with a strong focus on sustainability, digitization and an innovative concept of affordable luxury.’
‘This purchase consolidates HIP's leadership in southern Europe. We continue to make progress in our strategic growth plan, we already have assets in Spain, Greece and Portugal, countries that are synonymous with quality tourism. Having a strategic partner such as the Mangia family, with almost fifty years of experience in the sector, is key to continuing to grow in Italy and to carry out the repositioning of assets,’ said Alejandro Hernández-Puértolas, founder and CEO of HIP.
