Hyatt to acquire Apple Leisure Group for $2.7 billion

US-hotel giant Hyatt has agreed to acquire luxury resorts operator Apple Leisure Group for $2.7 billion. Apple Leisure, owner of the Secrets, Dreams, Breathless, Zoëtry and Sunscape resort brands, will greatly increase Hyatt’s share of the luxury resorts market as the global tourism industry emerges from the pandemic. Currently owned by US private equity groups KKR and KSL Capital Partners, who acquired the group from Bain Capital in 2016, Apple Leisure operates around 100 luxury resorts with 30,000 hotel rooms concentrated in all-inclusive properties in Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe, as well as a tour operations business. The acquisition, which will be funded through $1 billion of cash as well as a mixture of debt and equity financing, will increase Hyatt’s European hotel portfolio by around 60%. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Azora acquires Vilalara Thalassa in the Algarve from Oxy

Spanish investment manager Azora has acquired the 118-room Vilalara Thalassa Resort in Porches in the Portuguese Algarve from Portuguese private equity firm Oxy Capital, for an undisclosed price. The purchase of the five-star resort was made on behalf of Azora’s European Hotel & Lodging fund. The acquisition comes less than a month after Azora took over two Tivoli hotels in the Algarve for €148 million. Azora has expressed that they are still hungry for further acquisitions in the region.

Erste acquires D-Resort Sibnek in Croatia from Dogus

Austria-based Erste Bank has acquired the 72-room D-Resort Sibenik in Croatia from Turkish real estate developer Dogus Holdings for a reported €26 million (€361,000 per room). The hotel is located on its own peninsula in Sibnek, a sea-side medieval town located half-way up the western coast of Croatia, equidistant from Zadar to the north and Split to the south. The sea-side resort was designed by architect Nikola Basic, who is responsible for several other modern resort hotels in Croatia. The hotel features a private yacht dock, a spa and extensive leisure facilities.

Real acquires MOOONS Hotel in Vienna

German asset manager Real I.S. has acquired the newly-built MOOONS hotel in Vienna from a German pension fund for an undisclosed sum. Construction on the 170-room property was completed in 2020, the development of which was managed by Bridge Group and Moser Architects. A lease has been agreed with German hotel operator Munich Hotel Partners, who will run the property as an upscale brand. The MOOONS hotel, after Le Meridien Vienna, represents MHP’s second property in Austria.

Loughview acquires Templepatrick’s Hilton in Belfast

Northern Irelands’ Loughview Leisure Group, a subsidiary of Kilmona Property Investment Group, has acquired the Hilton Hotel and Golf Resort on Castle Upton Estate located just outside of Belfast. The 126-bedroom property, which includes an 18-hole golf course, is set to be converted into the first DoubleTree franchise in Northern Ireland. The transaction is subject to a long leasehold agreement (168 years unexpired) with an annual ground rent payment of £200,000 to Danny Kinahan, the owner of the Castle Upton Estate.

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