New change of ownership for one of the city's prominent hotels. The investment group Meridia Capital, founded and chaired by Javier Faus, has acquired the Hotel Gallery, a four-star establishment located on Rosselló street in Barcelona, between Paseo de Gràcia and Rambla Catalunya. The operation includes the purchase of the Hotel Molina Lario, located in Malaga, which also belonged to the Gallery Hoteles group, founded in the 90s by the Gómez Casals family. According to Meridia, the two hotels total 213 rooms.
The Barcelona-based manager has executed the acquisition through Meridia V, its fifth fund, which debuts after completing a first closing. According to Meridia, this fund is expected to be the largest investment vehicle raised by the manager to date. Sources close to the group indicate that the new fund's objective is to raise around 400 million euros. "The Hotel Gallery, in the center of Barcelona, and the Hotel Molina Lario, in the heart of Malaga, present high potential," highlights Meridia, which plans to "implement a repositioning and management strategy to consolidate both assets in the superior 4-star segment."
Gallery Hoteles owns a third establishment, the Hotel Hanucai, located in Colònia Sant Jordi, Mallorca. Last March, the interest of the Gómez Casals family in divesting from the chain became known, for which multiple investment groups had reportedly shown interest. Finally, Meridia has acquired ownership of two of the hotels with the challenge of improving their market positioning in two key tourist cities and adapting them also to new environmental standards. According to El Confidencial, the amount of the operation amounts to 80 million euros. The Mallorca hotel has been left out of the transaction's perimeter, so it would remain in the family's hands.
"Meridia V is launched at a unique moment. We will continue to execute a growth strategy focused on thematic and sector-specific investment, while prioritizing transactions with a strong local and owner angle. Combining our strategic approach, market experience, and commitment to sustainability, from Meridia we plan to leverage the current window of opportunity to deliver value to our investors. This first operation in the hotel sector in Barcelona and Malaga is a clear example of this," explained Héctor Serrat, Real Estate Partner at Meridia.
Investment in hotels is common in the different funds launched by Meridia. In the Catalan capital, for example, the group also owns the Hotel Hesperia Barcelona del Mar, with 84 rooms and located on the Seafront, in the 22@ district, an operation carried out in March 2020. This year it has announced an investment of 200 million to boost the low-cost hotel chain B&B Hotels. To do this, it has already acquired four plots of land in Vallecas (Madrid), Seville (2) and Vilaseca (Tarragona) which it will rent to the hotel company to build four hotels that will add 500 rooms. Recently, the manager has also acquired the headquarters of the Océano publishing house, located on Milanesat street in Barcelona, in this case to reinforce its offer of high-end offices in the city. Its real estate funds also regularly invest in the logistics and residential sectors.
This fifth investment vehicle plans to raise around 400 million, contributed mainly by international institutional investors, such as pension funds, family offices, banks, insurance companies and sovereign funds. The group led by Javier Faus manages assets of more than 1,000 million euros and has a 17-year track record in the alternative investment sector in Spain. In addition to investing in the real estate sector, the company has a venture capital division, being a shareholder of the Andilana restaurant chain and the Volotea airline. It is also a partner of the Aldea Tech Fund fund of funds. It also has a division focused on investing in the gampling or luxury camping sector.
Javier Faus, who presided over the Cercle d'Economia until 2022 and was vice-president of Barça between 2010 and 2015, has extensive experience in the hotel sector, having been the CEO of Hovisa, the former owner of the Hotel Arts. Before founding Meridia Capital, he was also the managing partner in Spain of the Patron Capital fund.
In Barcelona, this year the Juan Carlos I, Sofia and Mandarin Oriental hotels also changed ownership, all three in the five-star luxury segment. The latter establishment has been acquired by the Saudi family investment group The Olayan Group, for around 240 million. For its part, the Hotel Sofia passed in April into the hands of Blasson Property Investments and the French insurance group Axa for 180 million. Finally, the Tyrus Capital fund has acquired ownership of the former Juan Carlos I, which will be transformed into the new Gran Meliá Miranda de Pedralbes after an investment of 40 million.