US private equity firm KKR has completed the acquisition of two hotels in the Belgian city of Antwerp for about €48 mln.
US private equity firm KKR has completed the acquisition of two hotels in the Belgian city of Antwerp for about €48 mln.
The transaction, carried out by KKR's joint venture with independent European hotel specialist Algonquin, was originally signed in May 2015.
The assets are a four-star Radisson Blu with 247 rooms and a three-star boutique hotel, Park Inn, with 59 rooms. Both are situated on Astrid Square, opposite Antwerp’s Central Station international train station. The vendor was Israeli holding group Elbit Imaging.
'Antwerp’s status as a business hub and a leisure destination makes these hotels attractive investments,' said Guillaume Cassou, head of European real estate at KKR. 'As the city continues to develop its infrastructure, including with a new conference centre (opening in 2017), we believe demand for the hotel market will continue to grow. This acquisition represents an exciting first step in KKR’s partnership with Algonquin, and both groups are looking forward to doing more together across Europe.'
Jean-Philippe Chomette, founder and CEO of Algonquin, added: 'This double acquisition marks the beginning of what we hope to be a long and successful partnership with KKR'.
KKR and Algonquin were advised by Gide and Nautaduthil on the legal front, while the local chamber of commerce, VOKA- Kamer van Koophandel Antwerpen-Waasland, and Hugo Ceusters Real Estate lent support in the due diligence of the investment.
Since launching a dedicated real estate platform in 2011, KKR has committed over $2 bn (€1.8 bn) to 50 real estate transactions in the US, Europe and Asia as of Q1 2015. The real estate team consists of over 30 dedicated investment professionals.
PropertyEU is holding an investment briefing dedicated to European hotel investment in London on the morning of 16 June 2015
