Investors ploughed €537 mln into Spanish hotels in the third quarter of 2016, up 162% on the year-earlier period and the highest growth rate of all European markets, according to CBRE.
Hotel investment across Europe as a whole reached €3.8 bn in Q3, down 6% year-on-year. Volumes for the first nine months of the year amounted to €10.3 bn, a decline of 34% year-on-year.
The growth in Spain was largely driven by strong investor demand to capitalise on the improving economic and performance recovery which has continued to gather pace, CBRE said.
Transactions in Q3 spanned the country, including gateway and secondary cities and resort locations. A notable transaction was the five-star Pullman Barcelona Skipper, sold by AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets at a price believed to be in the region of €85 mln. The guide price was €90 mln.
Italy and Ireland also registered strong Q3 growth with a year-on-year increase of 135% and 106% respectively.
The German hotel investment market remained the most attractive to investors with transaction volumes reaching €856 mln in Q3.
Joe Stather, information and intelligence manager for EMEA at CBRE Hotels, said: ‘European hotel transaction volumes continue to reflect the challenging current climate and the decline is in line with the slowdown across all mainstream European commercial property. However, the rate of negative growth in hotels is slowing and a strengthening deal pipeline in the UK, Spain and Italy suggests more buoyant deal volumes for the beginning of 2017.’
