Singaporean investor picks up UK boutique hotel chain for €508m

The hospitality arm of Singapore-listed property investor Frasers Centrepoint Limited (FCL) has completed the acquisition of a chain of 29 boutique hotels in the UK for £363 mln (€508 mln).

Frasers Hospitality UK Holdings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of FCL, acquired the Malmaison Hotel du Vin group (MHDV) from US-based private equity firm KSL Capital Partners.

MHDV owns two upscale boutique lifestyle brands – Malmaison and Hotel du Vin – comprising 29 boutique lifestyle hotels and 2,082 keys across 25 cities in the UK.

'FCL’s strategy remains focused on achieving balanced growth across asset classes and diversifying our earnings profile. This acquisition is important as it doubles our offerings in Europe to about 4,000 keys and it propels Frasers Hospitality to be one of the leading hospitality players in this market.' said Lim Ee Seng, Group CEO of FCL.

Both Malmaison and Hotel du Vin have seen average occupancy rates of over 80% for the last three years and achieved better revenue per available room (RevPAR) than its peers, according to the buyer.

Growth
'MHDV provides a tried and proven DNA in the boutique lifestyle segment for us. The purchase of Malmaison and Hotel du Vin perfectly complements our brand portfolio and gives Frasers Hospitality a platform to expand into the fastest growing hospitality sector. We look forward to building on this success with future development in the UK, Europe and Asia,' said Frasers Hospitality’s CEO, Choe Peng Sum. 'With these two best-in-class lifestyle brands, we are on track to reach our goal of operating 30,000 keys by 2019.'

The inclusion of Malmaison and Hotel du Vin brings Frasers Hospitality’s portfolio to 129 properties, across 77 cities and over 21,100 keys.

Apart from accelerating Frasers Hospitality’s growth in the portfolio, Frasers will be enhancing its platform and management expertise in Europe.