Petter Stordalen, a Norwegian billionaire property developer-investor and owner of Nordic Choice Hotels, is to develop a 500-room bed-and-breakfast and conference centre hotel and rebrand and operate the existing high-end Hilton Hotel at Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup.
The airport has experienced rising tourist and business traveller numbers in recent years, with passenger numbers increasing by almost 10% to more than 29 million in 2016. The increasing passenger flow has put pressure on the existing hotel facilities.
Announcing the new partnership with the Nordic Choice Hotels group, Thomas Woldbye, CEO of Copenhagen Airports (CPH), said the airport had to expand considerably to be able to handle up to 40 million passengers a year. 'Essentially, it's a matter of creating more space for both aircraft and passengers. But we also need hotel and conference capacity, so I'm delighted that we've managed to find a partner with huge international experience of developing and operating world-class hotels and with whom we've been able to create a shared vision.'
Nordic Choice and CPH have agreed to develop a hotel with 500 bedrooms and a 3,000 m2 conference facility for DKK 800 mln (€107 mln). The hotel will operate under Nordic Choices' Comfort Hotel concept, which Stordalen describes as a 'cool bed-and-breakfast chain'.
The hotel and conference centre are scheduled to be ready for use by 2020. Stordalen's property company Strawberry Fields will own 40% of the hotel and the conference centre. CPH will own the remaining share. The new Comfort Hotel is being developed in Ellehammersvej, next to the current high-end Hilton hotel at the airport, and will be directly connected to the metro, railway and airport.
In the second part of the co-operation, Nordic Choice will take over the management of the Hilton and operate it under Nordic Choice's own Clarion Hotel brand. The renamed Clarion Hotel Copenhagen Airport will undergo a DKK 70 mln upgrade of its rooms, restaurant, conference facilities and lobby.
As part of the upgrade Clarion will introduce its restaurant concept, Kitchen & Table By Marcus Samuelsson. Samuelsson, a chef with restaurants around the world, including New York, is famous for being the favourite chef of former US President Barack Obama.
'Clarion Hotel is our high-end chain with a strong full-service concept, and it sets a high standard for design, interiors, art, food and drink. It's our ambition that this hotel should be reborn as an even bigger success. Clarion Hotel Arlanda Airport has been crowned Sweden's best business hotel and Europe's most luxurious airport hotel, and experiences from there will benefit the hotel at Copenhagen Airport,' Stordalen said.
Nordic Choice Hotels is one of the largest hotel groups in the Nordic region with 190 hotels and 13,000 employees in Scandinavia and the Baltic States. The company markets the chains Comfort Hotel, Quality Hotel and Clarion, as well as 21 stand-alone hotels.
Pangea Property Partners advised Nordic Choice and Strawberry Fields and Petter Stordalen in the agreement with CPH.
