CEE-focused investment manager and hospitality specialist Revetas is increasing its bets on the distressed hospitality sector by launching a Strategic Hospitality Investment Partnership (SHIP) that will pursue active strategies aimed at recovering, preserving and enhancing asset value.
The programme, which covers Central and Western Europe, will seek to provide divestment solutions as well as liquidity lines for working capital and capex investments to hotel owners, while looking to inject fresh capital alongside owners and lenders to restructure and reposition the wide spectrum of hospitality assets affected by the pandemic.
SHIP is expected to invest €300-400 mln in the near term with the potential to reach €1 bn over the next three years, says founding partner Eric Assimakopoulos.
‘We think the hospitality sector will be the hardest-hit sector post Covid-19. The industry was expected to generate $620 bn of revenues globally this year and it will likely end up at 20-30% of that, which means it will need capital to the tune of several trillions to recover. We also believe it will take the longest to recover, because it needs the long-haul tourism, business travel and airline industry back in place,’ Assimakopoulos told PropertyEU in an interview.
He added: ‘We see a strong opportunity in providing working capital to entrepreneurial hotel owners, operators and platforms, liquidity to hotel owners looking for divestment solutions as well as providing fresh sources of rescue and recovery capital to the banks involved.’
