The year starts strong in Barcelona in the hotel buying and selling sector. After the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and the Hotel Sofia changed hands in 2023, this Tuesday the purchase of the luxury hotels Miramar and La Florida by the SOCIMI Atom Hoteles, promoted by Bankinter and GMA and led by hotel expert Víctor Martí, was announced.
These are two unique properties that until now belonged to the Lebanese investor Joseph Boutros El Khoury, who would have received 50 million euros from this operation. The change of ownership will strengthen the presence of large international prestigious chains in Barcelona, as Hyatt will now manage the iconic Hotel Miramar in Montjuïc. In parallel, the management of the Gran Hotel La Florida, located in Tibidabo, will be taken over by Sunset Hospitality Group, a leading company in the restaurant and leisure sector in Dubai, and which currently already operates high-end hotels and restaurants in Marbella and Ibiza in Spain.
"The investment is a sign of confidence in Barcelona's position as a tourist destination, and in its ability to attract capital, brands, knowledge and visitors," highlight Atom Hoteles SOCIMI, a company that until now only owned the Ilunion Les Corts hotel in the Catalan capital, which it acquired in 2022. In total, this listed investment vehicle specialized in hotels has a portfolio of 28 establishments totaling 6,713 rooms and the value of its assets exceeds 950 million euros.
"We are happy and excited about this new operation, which allows us to open the door of the city of Barcelona to two high-end references such as Hyatt and Sunset Hospitality Group. For us, it is important to work with the right partner in each business opportunity, and we are sure that we are facing a moment of historical renovation in Barcelona's luxury hospitality", Atom pointed out, after highlighting that as of today they become the owners of two of the ten 5-star Grand Luxury hotels in the city.
Atom describes the 50 million disbursed in this transaction as an "initial investment," noting that an investment plan for improvements will be activated to reposition and relaunch the two establishments hand in hand with the new operators. Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, with a presence on all continents and more than 1,300 high-end hotels, has wanted to establish itself strongly in Barcelona for many years. Its star project was the conversion of the Agbar Tower into a luxury hotel, but the hotel moratorium prevented it. After this fiasco, in 2020 it allied with Hesperia to transform its emblematic hotel on Granvia de L'Hospitalet into the current Hyatt Regency Barcelona Tower. Subsequently, it signed a franchise agreement with the Hotel Sofia, located on Avenida Diagonal, and now the Miramar will become its third establishment in Barcelona.
Atom Hoteles: "The investment is a sign of confidence in Barcelona's position as a tourist destination, and in its ability to attract capital, brands, knowledge, and visitors""On a personal and professional level, this operation is special, because it has allowed me to return to the city where I began my professional career in the hotel sector, at a time when it is difficult to find good assets in which to invest in this sector," explained Víctor Martí, CEO of Atom Hoteles. The businessman emphasizes feeling "extraordinarily excited about this operation in Barcelona," adding thatthe city "has remained in recent years as one of the five best European capitals to invest in hotels.""The purchases of Hotel Miramar and Gran Hotel La Florida ---he adds--- are the first operations of the year in the city and in Spain, and, due to the exclusivity and luxury of the acquired assets, they are destined to be among the most important of the current year."
A SOCIMI promoted by Bankinter
Founded in January 2018, Atom Hoteles has around 800 shareholders and was promoted by Bankinter Investment (Bankinter's investment banking subsidiary), which owns 5% of the capital, and by the real estate asset manager GMA (owner of another 5%) as an alternative investment vehicle specializing in four and five-star hotels, both urban and holiday. In Catalonia, Atom also owns the AC Baqueria Ski Resort hotel, although the bulk of its assets are located in the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands, along with properties in Andalusia, Madrid, Valencia, the Basque Country, and Galicia.
Hotel Miramar was initially built as a restaurant for the 1929 Universal Exposition, and between 1959 and 1983 the building housed the RTVE studios in Catalonia, which later moved to Sant Cugat. During those decades, it became the center of nascent Spanish television culture, with names like Mónica Randall or Federico Gallo. It features Forestier gardens and was the work of the celebrated Ramon Raventós, although in 2007 the prestigious studio of Oscar Tusquets was commissioned to convert it into a luxury hotel.
For its part, the Gran Hotel La Florida was built in 1924 during the full development of Tibidabo mountain. Mythical figures of literature and cinema have stayed there, such as Ernest Hemingway, James Stewart, or Rock Hudson. In its gardens, it is not uncommon for guests like Bruce Springsteen, Barack Obama, or Tom Hanks to coincide, as happened at the end of 2023. "The mix of modernity and classicism permeates the establishment, where contemporary sculptures by Ben Jakober and Yannick Vu blend with the most elegant taste of Barcelona interior design," Atom recalls.
The Lebanese investor Joseph Boutros El Khoury bought the two Barcelona hotels at the end of 2010 through his investment vehicle, Continental Property Investments (CPI), from the American fund Area Property (formerly Apollo), which, with the support of Aareal Bank, had acquired the two assets between 2005 and 2007.
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