Nordic property investor NREP has acquired the Quality Hotel River Station in the CBD of Drammen, near Oslo in Norway, from Bane Nor Eiendom for NOK 485 mln (€48 mln).
The hotel has 247 rooms and includes conference and meeting room facilities with a capacity of up to 600 people and a gross lettable area of more than 13,500 m2. The hotel is leased to one of the Nordic region's leading hotel chains, Nordic Choice, with a remaining lease of 13 years.
'Drammen is a very important city for us. In addition to all the projects we have today, we will continue to invest in this market in the future,' said Bane Nor's development director Morten Austestad.
NREP has been stepping up its presence in Norway in the recent past. In 2021, the Nordic private equity player made significant investments in the country, raised capital for several of its funds, and doubled the organization to prepare for future growth. The hotel investment is made on behalf of NREP Income +, which also previously bought Coop's 86,000 m2 warehouse at Gardermoen, as well as Oda's new warehouse on Liertoppen.
'We are very pleased with this transaction which gives NREP an even stronger foothold in Norway. Hotels are not a strategic segment for NREP, but still we look at the segment with interest, and the hotel in Drammen satisfies NREP's requirements for a good location. The nature of the building in terms of modern qualities and sustainability is also a key factor,' said Jens Petter Hagen, partner and head of NREP Norway.
Pangea Property Partners acted as financial advisor for Bane NOR Eiendom in the sales process.
'The Nordic countries are on their way back to normal, which is particularly noticeable in the hotel segment. Year-to-date, hotel transactions worth more than €300 mln have been completed in Norway, which is more than three times the amount spent in the corona year 2020 and almost on a par with the 2019 volume with a quarter left of the year,' said Bård Bjølgerud, CEO & Partner at Pangea Property Partners.
