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PPHE Hotel Group has completed the acquisition of the 4-star Londra & Cargill Hotel in a prime central location in Rome, Italy. The acquisition marks the group’s entry into the Italian market. On completion of the transaction, hotel operations will continue whilst the Group finalises its plans to reposition the property to an upper upscale lifestyle hotel. The hotel is expected to be relaunched in early 2023.

The Londra & Cargill Hotel is steeped in history dating back to the early 1900’s and is located in central Rome just minutes from Via Vittorio Veneto, one of Rome’s most elegant and famous streets, a short walk from Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps, Villa Borghese Gardens and Rome’s central station. The hotel currently offers 101 rooms and suites, a restaurant, bar, meeting facilities and private parking.

The transaction has been structured as a share sale of the company which owns the freehold hotel and its operations, from certain members of the De Romanis family, for a purchase price of €34.5m, subject to working capital and other customary price adjustments, which resulted in €33.2m payable by the group on completion.

Boris Ivesha, President & CEO of PPHE Hotel Group, commented: “We are thrilled to acquire this hotel in the centre of Rome, which will mark our entry into the Italian market and adds another key capital city to our growing portfolio of hotels. Our plans to reposition the property to an upper upscale lifestyle hotel will further bolster our development pipeline which already features iconic, premium projects across cities including art’otel london battersea power station and art’otel london hoxton.”

Schroders Capital and Capital France Hotel, a hotel investment vehicle managed by Schroders Capital’s real estate hotels team, have completed the acquisition of a major hotel complex in Berlin. The complex comprises three properties: the Holiday Inn Hotel, the Indigo Hotel and the One80° Hostel, totalling 527 rooms. It is ideally located on Alexanderplatz, one of the main public squares of Berlin, in the prime quarter of Mitte, and offers extensive facilities for both corporate and leisure guests. The two hotels will be leased to Premier Inn, part of the Whitbread Group, and will undergo an extensive renovation program to become one of the brand’s flagships in Europe. The hostel will continue to be operated by the seller under a long-term lease agreement. The purchase price was not disclosed.

Chris-Norman Sauer, Acquisitions Director Germany, Premier Inn, said: “Berlin is one of the most important target markets for us in Germany and Alexanderplatz is the centre of the capital with many important sights, restaurants and shopping opportunities within walking distance. With its great architecture and high visibility, it perfectly complements our hotel in Berlin West. We are very much looking forward to converting the two hotels into Germany’s largest Premier Inn with 403 rooms.”

Union Investment is expanding its long-stay hotel portfolio with the latest acquisition of the Wilde by Staycity hotel development in London. The 14-storey aparthotel, due to complete in November 2021, will have 156 rooms with fully equipped kitchenettes, a coffee shop and a gym. Staycity already operates two Wilde by Staycity hotels in London and has signed a 30-year lease.

The Wilde by Staycity aparthotel will offer 5,737m² of rental space and is situated in a prominent location on the corner of Commercial Road and Greenfield Road on the eastern fringe of the City of London, which has undergone significant regeneration in recent years. The location has excellent links to public transport, with Aldgate and Aldgate East underground stations just a few minutes’ walk away. The intention is to achieve a BREEAM sustainability rating of “Very Good” for the building.

The acquisition will be added to the holdings of open-ended real estate fund Unilmmo: Deutschland. The vendor Regal London has secured planning permission for the site in June 2019 and optimised the existing commercial building design to deliver the hotel scheme. The purchase price is around €60m.

“London is one of the strongest hotel markets in Europe, and aparthotel concepts have shown themselves to be resilient during the coronavirus pandemic. We’re delighted to be adding Staycity to our hotel portfolio as a financially strong tenant with a well-known brand who is making a long-term commitment to this location,” said Andreas Löcher, head of Investment Management Hospitality at Union Investment.

LaSalle Investment Management has acquired NH Collection Gran Hotel Calderon located on Ramblas Catalunya near Ramblas de Cataluna in the Ensanche district of Barcelona. The hotel has been purchased from NH Group SA on behalf of Encore+, LaSalle’s flagship pan-European fund. As the third most visited European city, with over 22 million overnight stays in 2019 Barcelona benefits from a historically strong tourism sector and the market enjoyed steady revenue-per-available-room growth over the last decade, reaching the highest average rate in the Spanish urban market in 2019. As the recovery in international travel steadily accelerates, the city is well-positioned to rebuild its leisure and business travel industry as travel recovers.

The 5-star NH Calderon hotel, in the heart of the city is positioned to benefit from this strong demand to come as it is well connected to all areas of the city within a few minutes’ walk of Plaza de Cataluña and only 150m from high-quality retail and Gaudi architecture of Paseo de Gracia. It is located within a 20-minute drive of the El Prat Barcelona Airport.

The acquisition highlights the Fund’s commitment to investing in good value opportunities with strong recovery opportunities in exciting urban locations. With a prime location in a global tourist city, the Gran Hotel Calderon acquisition further diversifies and strengthens the Fund’s geographic footprint.

Katara Hospitality has announced a new partnership with Accor an exciting new evolution of the iconic Delano brand, Maison Delano Paris planned to open in 2022.  Delano’s well-earned reputation as the ultimate luxury lifestyle destination which was launched in Miami with first-class service and customized guest experiences will now be replicated in major global urban city centres. Maison Delano will boast a new F&B concept by world-renowned chef Dani Garcia which will provide guests with an oasis in the centre of bustling cities and feature unparalleled accommodations, cuisine and mixology experiences.

As the first addition to the Delano brand, Maison Delano Paris is destined to be a jewel in the crown of Accor’s lifestyle portfolio and will set the standard for future expansion. Located in the heart of the prestigious 8th Arrondissement in an 18th-century mansion at 4 Rue d’Anjou, just steps away from the famous Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, the hotel will boast 56 extraordinary rooms and suites, a vibrant restaurant and bar nestled in the mansion’s historical courtyard.

Patrizia AG has completed the acquisition of Michaelkirchstraße 20, a newly built office building in Berlin, Germany, on behalf of its institutional clients. The vendor is Spree Area GmbH.

Michaelkirchstraße 20, which was developed in the Berlin-Mitte district by Züblin on the site of a former steam mill and construction, was completed in 2019. The 4,400m² state-of-the-art building is fully let to the headquarters of Urban Sports Club, a company that provides access to various fitness studios, sports classes and health activities via a network of partner facilities, all in one membership. Both the location and rental yields offer further upside potential. The property was built to the highest standards and is on track to receive a LEED Gold certification in due course.

The asset is situated in a burgeoning office submarket that benefits from excellent transport connectivity. Local public transport stations such as U-Bahn and S-Bahn are located only 5-minutes on foot, while the mainline railway station at Berlin Ostbahnhof is accessible in under 15 minutes. The Berlin-Mitte district comprises the historic centre of Old Berlin as well as a significant number of bars, restaurants and other retail provisions.

Following the most ambitious and extensive renovation to take place in its 110-year history, Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Madrid has confirmed that it will open next Spring, and is currently accepting reservations from 15 March 2021. During the three-year renovation, Spanish architect Rafael de La-Hoz and the French designer duo Gilles & Boissier collaborated closely on the spectacular new design and range of facilities to ensure they appeal to both local and international guests while preserving the striking Belle Époque character of the original building in keeping with the original spirit conceived by Cesar Ritz.

The hotel will open with 153 luxuriously appointed rooms, including 53 suites. There will also be five restaurants and bars, which have been designed, developed and implemented by a celebrated Spanish chef, Quique Dacosta. The historic Palm Court with its signature glass dome, reinstated after more than 80 years, will have a selection of artworks on display that have been inspired by the strong connection between the hotel and this majestic city. The hotel’s new leisure and wellness facilities include a heated indoor swimming pool, a vitality pool, experience showers, a steam room and a contemporary fitness centre. The ballroom and function spaces, with their large windows facing the Prado Museum have been beautifully restored and designed to ensure the hotel is once again the venue of choice for weddings, private dinners and parties.

Spanish fashion giant Inditex Group’s international brands including Zara, Zara Home, Stradivarius, Pull&Bear, Bershka, Oysho and Massimo Dutti have joined Etele Plaza as anchor tenants. The stores will comprise over 6,300m², making Etele Plaza the only place which has Inditex Group’s full portfolio in one place on the Buda side of the Hungarian capital.

Amid the challenges raised by the pandemic, the development of Futureal’s €300 million Etele Plaza is still in progress with full capacity and expected to open by autumn next year. Meanwhile, to date, more than three-quarters of the rentable area has been leased to high-profile tenants including some of the largest fashion retailers.

Zara will open its largest store in Buda with its brand new Soft concept, that has not yet taken over all the world’s metropolises, thus the shopping centre can boast that Zara store in Etele plaza is one of the first to introduce it alongside those in Dubai, Madrid, Istanbul and Croatia. As part of Zara’s commitment to improving the quality of service and shopping experience, the new store will be equipped with advanced RFID technology that helps to quickly and accurately track the location and movement of the clothing.