Spanish property company Rayet and hotel company In Hotels & Real Estate have set up a joint venture to invest more than EUR 350 mln in luxury hotels in major European cities. A Rayet spokesperson told PropertyEU that the company is planning to develop or acquire five-star hotel sites in capital cities such as London, Paris, Madrid, Rome, Berlin and Barcelona. 'We haven't as of yet identified particular sites, but we are considering several options at the moment,' the spokesperson said.
Spanish property company Rayet and hotel company In Hotels & Real Estate have set up a joint venture to invest more than EUR 350 mln in luxury hotels in major European cities. A Rayet spokesperson told PropertyEU that the company is planning to develop or acquire five-star hotel sites in capital cities such as London, Paris, Madrid, Rome, Berlin and Barcelona. 'We haven't as of yet identified particular sites, but we are considering several options at the moment,' the spokesperson said.
The two Spanish companies will set up two subsidiaries to own the properties, while launching a new group to manage the sites, which will be controlled 40% by Rayet and 60% by In Hotels & Real Estate. The new hotels will have about 120 rooms each and will involve an average investment of about EUR 70 mln. The total value of the joint venture investment will be EUR 350 mln by 2011. The first two hotels are scheduled to open in 2009, and another two will follow in 2010. Under the agreement, the new group will manage the sites for 15 years, while having an option for an additional 10-year period.
Rayet added that it is planning to look for partners in the medium term to fund the hotel activity, but that it intends to retain the ownership of the assets. The Spanish company has already invested some EUR 125 mln in the hotel property market under its Selenza brand. It owns four hotels in the Spanish hub cities of Madrid, Barcelona, Guadalajara and Malaga.