Gelba Fastigheter acquires 51% stake in Host Property AB
Swedish family-owned investment company Gelba Fastigheter AB has acquired a 51% stake in Host Property AB from Host AB, itself a subsidiary of Flying Elephant AS, for an undisclosed amount, with Host AB maintaining the remaining 49%. The Host Property AB portfolio includes eight upscale First Hotels in both northern and southern Sweden, totalling 967 rooms. The portfolio was previously valued at SEK 688 million (SEK 711,000 per room), approximately €60.4 million (€62,470 per room). The sale of the majority stake is to raise funds to repay a SEK 350 million (€30.7 million) bond loan. Gelba Fastigheter estimates an investment of SEK 130-140 million (€11.4-12.3 million) is necessary to bring the properties up to their desired standards. Host AB, established by Norwegian hotelier Asmund Haare in 1993, will continue to manage the properties. With this transaction, Gelba expands its hotel portfolio to 12 properties across Sweden. 
Starwood Capital sells Comfort Hotel Vesterbro in Copenhagen to Nrep
Nordic private equity real estate developer Nrep has acquired the Comfort Hotel Vesterbro in Copenhagen, Denmark, from Starwood Capital’s Real Estate Income Trust, for an undisclosed sum. Built in 1990, the three-star, 399-room property was extensively renovated in 2014. Nrep has reportedly set aside DKK 50 million (€6.7 million) for renovations to reduce the building’s CO2 output, with plans to make it fully self-sufficient in green energy. Starwood Capital acquired the property in 2021 from Strawberry Forever, for €81 million (€203,000 per room), a deal that included a long term operational lease to Strawberry Hospitality Group. Nrep currently has some €19 billion in total assets under management, with over 8 million sqm of real estate throughout Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Poland and Germany. 
Another Place acquires The Machrie hotel in Scotland
British lifestyle hotel collection Another Place has acquired The Machrie, a four-star, 47-room hotel and golf course on the island of Islay in Scotland, for an undisclosed amount, from Gavyn Davies, chairman of Fulcrum Asset Management, and his wife Baroness Sue Nye. The couple acquired the property out of administration in 2011 for £1.3 million, and at the time it included 31 rooms. The property is situated on the southern tip of the island, five minutes south of Islay Airport and some 500 m from the coast, and includes three lounges, a restaurant and a bar in addition to its 47 rooms and 18-hole links golf course. The Another Place hotel collection, which was set up by the Watergate Bay Hotel’s managing director, Will Ashworth, is reportedly aiming to increase its hotel portfolio by five properties by 2031.
IDF Tourisme & Territoires acquires 11BAUER Paris Saint Ouen
French real estate investment firm IDF Tourisme & Territoires, which was launched by the Ile-de-France region, has acquired the 11BAUER Paris St Ouen hotel in northern Paris, France, for an undisclosed amount. The newly built, three-star, 46-room hotel had been a family-led project for some ten years and was facing difficulties, which led to the region acquiring it in an effort to support local tourism. The property will be operated by Skeypper under the brand Best Western, and is said to have partially started to open its rooms on 20 November 2023. The hotel is expected to be fully operational by the start of the Paris Olympic Games in 2024. It will benefit from its location less than 1 km from the Bauer Stadium (Stade de Paris), and just 3 kms from the Stade de France, which will be the main stadium for the Olympic Games.
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