An Oman based investor's group led by Al Zaman Group of Companies has acquired a portfolio of four IntercityHotels across Germany sold by Invesco Real Estate, the global real estate investment manager.

The Zaman Group is a diversified organization with investments and operating businesses in real estate in the MENA region, Europe and in Asia. The group is also significantly invested in hospitality, retail, telecommunication, oil & gas, shipping & logistics, financial services, insurance and bespoke luxury industries. As owner of the first Dutch IntercityHotel, located in Enschede, Netherlands, Zaman Group is well acquainted with the IntercityHotel brand. IntercityHotels is the 3-4 star select service brand of Deutsche Hospitality.

Zaman Group Chairman, Mohammed Zaman commented on the deal: "We have found a reliable and business oriented hospitality partner with Deutsche Hospitality. This transaction contributes positively to the planned growth of our hospitality led investment portfolio".

Elaborating on the specifics of the deal, Acting  Head of European Real Estate, Tawfiq Al Muzaddid added: ''Al Zaman has been attracted  by European hospitality real estate for quite some time. Our investment strategy focused on new or recently renovated hotel assets operated by an established international operators in central locations offering stabilized incomes under long-lease income models.

Hence, the acquisition of a further four IntercityHotels came as a strategic fit for our portfolio taking the total room count to nearly one thousand. We now remain committed to adding value to the portfolio through further development and acquisitions.''

Hans-Peter Hermann, Senior Director – Asset Management Hotels at Invesco Real Estate comments: "The successful sale of the IntercityHotel portfolio confirms the continued market demand for high-quality hotel assets in Germany. Following active management of the assets and having exceeded our Client's objectives, the timing was optimal for us to sell these assets. We are delighted to be able to provide Zaman Group with four hotels in an excellent state of repair and successfully leased to a well-known hotel operator. We plan to further expand our footprint in the hotel sector on behalf of our existing investment mandates".

The parties agreed to maintain confidentiality about the purchase price.

The properties are located in the cities of Darmstadt, Mainz, Rostock and at Frankfurt Airport. The hotels are operated on the basis of 30-year hybrid lease agreements. The brand targets business and city travellers wishing to stay at city centres and nearby airports.

The hotel development and consulting specialist Feuring, Mainz, acted as transaction and industry adviser to the Zaman Group. Due to its key role in the previous portfolio transaction comprising of the same assets in 2014, Feuring had an in-depth knowledge about the portfolio and introduced Al Zaman to Invesco and the portfolio. Furthermore, Feuring has been selected as the future Asset Manager of the portfolio.

As legal advisors, Kucera Rechtsanwälte Darmstadt and DLA Piper Amsterdam (buyer's side) and DLA Piper Munich (seller's side) successfully acted as legal advisers to Zaman Group and Invesco respectively. In addition, Invesco Real Estate was advised by JLL.

About Al Zaman Group of Companies

Al Zaman is an Oman based business group, active in several key economic areas with global diversity. The company started its journey in the early 1980s as a trading house and transformed it into a professionally managed group of multidimensional companies that runs under one umbrella – The Al Zaman Group of Companies. Today, Al Zaman owns, operates and manages professionally run businesses within and outside the Sultanate of Oman. The Groups' global presence includes the United Kingdom, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, UAE, etc. Al Zaman operates its portfolios of businesses and investments under three operating groups. The groups successfully invested in hospitality, retail, telecommunication, oil & gas, shipping & logistics, financial services, insurance and bespoke luxury industries.

About Invesco Real Estate (IRE)

Invesco Real Estate is a global leader in the real estate investment management business with €55.3bn in real estate assets under management, 471 employees and 21 regional offices across the U.S., Europe and Asia. The firm was established in 1983 and has been actively investing in core, value-add and opportunistic real estate strategies since 1992. In Europe, IRE has eight offices in London, Munich, Milan, Madrid, Paris, Prague, Luxembourg and Warsaw, and around 140 employees. It manages 149 assets across 12 European countries and with assets under management of €9.0bn.

About Feuring

Feuring - Visionary Hotel Development was established in Mainz, Germany in 1959. Besides its own hotel development activity the companyaccompanies clients from the first idea for a hotel project to its operation, advises for conceptsand choice of operator, develops feasibilitystudies and area programs and accompanies clients during the project development until the turn-key handover. Up until now, Feuring has either developed or has been engaged in the successful development of more than 400 first class and luxury hotels at home and abroad on behalf of many investors and hotel chains.

Sandra Rainer-Pöselt
Feuring – Visionary Hotel Development