JLL's Hotels & Hospitality Group has been mandated by Avid Asset Management to exclusively advise on the sale of the Hilton Prague, the largest hotel in the Czech Republic.
JLL's Hotels & Hospitality Group has been mandated by Avid Asset Management to exclusively advise on the sale of the Hilton Prague, the largest hotel in the Czech Republic.
Although the guide price was kept confidential, it is understood that the sale is expected to break Czech and CEE records.
The Hilton Prague is one of the largest conference and banqueting hotels in the entire CEE region with 791 guestrooms and over 7,000 m2 of meeting space.
Located in the heart of Prague’s corporate district, the asset is in an 'excellent condition', JLL said, with over €50 mln invested by the owners since 2004, including the refurbishment of all the guestrooms and the addition of the ‘Cloud 9’ sky bar in 2009 that offers stunning views of the city’s skyline.
The asset is operated by Hilton with a short term remaining on the management agreement, representing an opportunity for the new owner to restructure the contract.
'The sale of the Hilton Prague offers a rare opportunity for an investor to acquire a freehold hotel investment of the highest calibre, with an impressive operating history and limited capital expenditure liability,' said Christoph Härle, CEO EMEA of JLL Hotels and Hospitality Group.
He added: 'Prague as a city has evolved into the primary conference destination in CEE and is showing consistent growth in the number of large-scale events hosted.'
Paul Morgan, CEO of Avid Asset Management commented: 'Under our stewardship in partnership with Hilton, the Hilton Prague has achieved impressive trading growth over the past number of years, coupled with extensive capital investment to maintain the highest standards throughout the property.'
Following a few years of subdued activity in the region, Central & Eastern Europe has been heating up over the past 12 months after a number of prime hotel assets were put for the sale in the region. Increased interest in the region has been triggered by a mismatch in pricing with core Western European markets, according to JLL.
Prague in particular saw the acquisition last year of the 372-room Intercontinental Hotel, Prague on the part of BHP, a listed Slovakian entity, from an affiliate of Westmont Hospitality for €115 mln.