La Salle Investment buys Hotel Calderón from NH for 125 million

Second real estate transaction for more than one hundred million euros closed this week in Barcelona. After the sale of Torre Esteve by Iberdrola Inmobiliaria to the German fund KGAL, it has now been the NH group that has announced the sale of its most emblematic hotel in the Catalan capital, the NH Collection Barcelona Gran Hotel Calderón.

The chain has transferred the five-star establishment on Rambla Catalunya to the international fund LaSalle Investment Management, which has paid 125.5 million euros. Headquartered in Chicago, this investment group has signed a 20-year lease agreement with NH with the option to exercise two extensions for 20 more years each, in a type of operation that in industry jargon is called sale & leaseback.

NH completely renovated the Hotel Calderón in 2017, with an investment of more than eleven million euros. Now it cashes in, as after tax payments it will receive 113 million euros net. In addition, the divestment will generate a capital gain of 46.7 million in its income statement. According to the chain, this operation will bring it closer to its goal of rotating assets for 200 million this year, an amount it plans to use to reduce its debt and strengthen liquidity at a time when the tourism sector has not yet managed to emerge from the crisis. Thus, the NH Collection Eurobuilding in Madrid has also been put up for sale. In 2020, NH's revenues decreased by 68.6%, to 540 million euros, compared to 1,718 million recorded in 2019. The goal of the group led by Ramón Aragonés is to recover pre-covid revenue levels by 2024.

The NH Collection Gran. Hotel Calderón has 255 rooms spread over eleven floors, crowned by a terrace with a swimming pool that offers great panoramic views of the city. With the renovation completed in 2017, the hotel raised its category from four to five stars and became NH's flagship in Barcelona. The establishment is located on the site of the old Teatro Calderón on Rambla Catalunya, where artists such as Concha Velasco debuted.

Founded in Pamplona in 1978, the NH group operates more than 350 hotels and is currently owned by the Thai group Minor Hotels, which in 2018 increased its stake in the chain to 94% after launching a public acquisition offer (OPA). The union of NH with Minor has created a conglomerate with a presence in 50 countries and more than 500 hotels under eight brands.