Union buys Crowne Plaza project in Amsterdam

Hamburg-based German open-ended fund Union Investment has acquired the Crowne Plaza hotel development in south Amsterdam. The property was acquired for Union Investment's UniImmo: Deutschland fund. Financial details were not disclosed.

This is Union Investment's first hotel acquistion in the Netherlands. The fund manager has siged a 20-year management lease with its long-standing partner Intercontinental Hotel Group. The hotel is due to open in November 2011 with 207 rooms, six meeting rooms, a restaurant and fitness area.

'With Intercontinental Crowne Plaza as operator, we have an experienced and financially strong partner who can successfully lead our first hotel in-vestment in Amsterdam,´ said Dr Frank Billand, board member of Union Investment.

The first Crowne Plaza hotel in Amsterdam is located near the World Trade Center at the so-called Zuidas or South Axis, the fastest-growing and most prestigious office location in the Netherlands. The business disrict is located 10 minutes from Amsterdam Schiphol airport and has excellent transport connections to Amsterdam and the rest of the country.