Philippa Bock and Bernard Forster EUROPEAN HOTEL TRANSACTIONS 2002 HVS INTERNATIONAL This edition has been published by the London Office of HVS International 2002 Edition Introduction E uropean hotel investment activity came to a near standstill in the months immediately following the sudden and unprecedented terrorist atrocities in the USA. Nevertheless, the strength of the European hotel investment market in 2001 prior to these events was phenomenal, resulting in record levels of investment activity in both single asset and portfolio sales transactions. In 2001 the total investment volume of single asset transactions over €7.5 million achieved a new all-time record of over €3.2 billion, an increase of over 44% on the previous year. Meanwhile, portfolio and corporate activity recorded approximately €9.2 billion, an astounding 81% increase on the previous year. The cautious and uncertain outlook that ensued during the last quarter of 2001 resulted in a sudden change in the investment market. As a result of uncertainty over future profit margins, and as evidence of a difference between the bid and the asking price unfolded, a number of deals close to completion were put on hold. Meanwhile, fewer assets came onto the market as hotel owners, able to service debt through falling interest rates and reduced gearing, chose instead to ride out the stormy conditions. In contrast to the previous year, which benefited from deals already well progressed following buoyant trading conditions in 2000, a reduced level of investment activity in the first half of 2002 was apparent. It is only in the second half of 2002 that the hotel investment market is showing distinct signs of recovery. Despite possible further military action against Iraq and other countries perceived as a threat to international security, there are signs of a renewed optimism as an increasing number of deals are completing, in terms of both single asset and portfolio transactions. As at September 2002 year-to-date, single asset and portfolio sales transactions were down by approximately 46% and 76% respectively, with approximately €1.1 billion of single asset sales transactions recorded and €2.1 billion of portfolio transactions. European Single Asset Transaction Activity D uring 2001 we recorded a total of 80 single asset hotel transactions which met the criteria for inclusion within our survey. These represented an 11% increase compared with the previous year’s 72 qualifying transactions, and a 13% increase upon 1999 levels, when a total of 71 single asset hotel transactions were recorded. In 2002 we have recorded 34 qualifying transactions to-date in our survey. HVS International is pleased to have been involved with providing valuation and due diligence support to a significant proportion of the single asset and portfolio sales recorded within this report. Over the past three years liquidity within the European hotel market has improved, with the total value of single asset hotel transactions rising phenomenally; in 2001 there was a record high of over €3.2 billion. This represented a 44% increase upon the total value of transactions in 2000 and an astounding 108% increase since 1998. It is also interesting to note that, in addition to the increased volume of transactions, the average price achieved per room increased by 35% between 1999 and 2001. This trend has not yet been repeated in 2002; however, several quality single assets are currently being marketed (or are rumoured to be), including Starwood’s Ciga portfolio, the Ritz in Paris, the Nikko in Düsseldorf, the Four Seasons in Milan, the Hotel des Bergues in Geneva and the Sheraton Pulitzer and the Sheraton Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. The surge in transactional activity began in 1999. This can be attributed to various factors, such as EMU convergence, benefiting the investment HVS International European Hotel Transactions 2002 1 Figure 1 European Hotel Single Asset Transactions 1995–02 Source: HVS International Research No. of Transactions € Millions 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 Approx € Millions Number of Transactions
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Philippa Bock and Bernard Forster
EUROPEAN HOTELTRANSACTIONS 2002
H V S I N T E R N AT I O N A L
This edition has been published by the London Office of HVS International 2002 Edition
Introduction
European hotel investment activitycame to a near standstill in themonths immediately following
the sudden and unprecedented terroristatrocities in the USA. Nevertheless,the strength of the European hotelinvestment market in 2001 prior tothese events was phenomenal, resultingin record levels of investment activityin both single asset and portfoliosales transactions. In 2001 the totalinvestment volume of single assettransactions over €7.5 million achieveda new all-time record of over€3.2 billion, an increase of over 44%on the previous year. Meanwhile,portfolio and corporate activityrecorded approximately €9.2 billion,an astounding 81% increase on theprevious year.
The cautious and uncertain outlookthat ensued during the last quarter of2001 resulted in a sudden change in theinvestment market. As a result ofuncertainty over future profit margins,and as evidence of a difference betweenthe bid and the asking price unfolded, anumber of deals close to completionwere put on hold. Meanwhile, fewerassets came onto the market as hotelowners, able to service debt throughfalling interest rates and reducedgearing, chose instead to ride out thestormy conditions. In contrast to theprevious year, which benefited fromdeals already well progressed followingbuoyant trading conditions in 2000, areduced level of investment activity inthe first half of 2002 was apparent. It isonly in the second half of 2002 that thehotel investment market is showingdistinct signs of recovery. Despitepossible further military action againstIraq and other countries perceived as athreat to international security, there aresigns of a renewed optimism as anincreasing number of deals arecompleting, in terms of both single assetand portfolio transactions. As atSeptember 2002 year-to-date, singleasset and portfolio sales transactionswere down by approximately 46% and
76% respectively, with approximately€1.1 billion of single asset salestransactions recorded and €2.1 billionof portfolio transactions.
European SingleAsset TransactionActivity
During 2001 we recorded a total of80 single asset hotel transactionswhich met the criteria for
inclusion within our survey. Theserepresented an 11% increase comparedwith the previous year’s 72 qualifyingtransactions, and a 13% increase upon1999 levels, when a total of 71 singleasset hotel transactions were recorded.In 2002 we have recorded 34 qualifyingtransactions to-date in our survey.
HVS International is pleased tohave been involved with providingvaluation and due diligence support toa significant proportion of the singleasset and portfolio sales recordedwithin this report.
Over the past three years liquiditywithin the European hotel market hasimproved, with the total value ofsingle asset hotel transactions risingphenomenally; in 2001 there was arecord high of over €3.2 billion. Thisrepresented a 44% increase upon thetotal value of transactions in 2000 andan astounding 108% increase since 1998.
It is also interesting to note that, inaddition to the increased volume oftransactions, the average priceachieved per room increased by 35%between 1999 and 2001. This trend hasnot yet been repeated in 2002; however,several quality single assets arecurrently being marketed (or arerumoured to be), including Starwood’sCiga portfolio, the Ritz in Paris, theNikko in Düsseldorf, the Four Seasonsin Milan, the Hotel des Bergues inGeneva and the Sheraton Pulitzer andthe Sheraton Schiphol Airport inAmsterdam.
The surge in transactional activitybegan in 1999. This can be attributedto various factors, such as EMUconvergence, benefiting the investment
HVS International European Hotel Transactions 2002 1
Figure 1 European Hotel Single Asset Transactions 1995–02
Source: HVS International Research
No. of Transactions € Millions
90
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01995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
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climate; the removal of currency risk,allowing increased cross-borderactivity; lower interest rates, improvedmarket transparency and improvedprofitability as a result of strong tradingconditions in many of the Europeanmarkets, thus ensuring greater fundswere made available for acquisitions.Transactional activity has been furtherboosted by the availability of sources offinance, such as securitisation and saleand leasebacks. Furthermore, privateequity investors have becomeincreasingly prevalent within theEuropean investment market, a marketwhich was traditionally dominated byhotel owner-operators.
Investment activity in 2001 wasparticularly impressive (at least duringthe first three quarters of the year),spurred on by deals which began in2000 and, in some instances,opportunistic investors realising thecapital gains achieved from enteringthe market during the early growthstage of the cycle. The global economicslowdown and the resultant effects ofthe terrorist atrocities in the USAresulted in a considerable stagnation inthe hotel investment market during thefinal quarter of 2001, stagnation thatcontinued into 2002. Transactionalactivity in 2002 has so far been notablyweaker, but several deals are in thepipeline and are expected to finalise inthe last quarter of 2002 or in early 2003.
Company andPortfolioTransactions
Consolidation within theEuropean hotel market has beena key phenomenon over the past
few years as hotel operators andinvestors strive to gain maximumexposure in markets, and in doing soseek to achieve economies of scale andmaximise shareholder value.
HVS International recorded 14corporate or portfolio transactionsduring 2001 and nine transactions year-to-date in 2002. In 2001 the number ofdeals was down 36% on the number oftransactions recorded the previousyear, but, more importantly, the totalvalue of these transactions wasconsiderably greater. In 2001 theportfolio activity represented anexchange of around €9.2 billion, an81% increase on 2000. The activity wasdominated by the disposal andfragmentation of the Compassportfolio, which opened the gateway tomore innovative financing.
Sale and leaseback transactionswere the predominant method of
financing hotel acquisitions in 2001,with the source of funding widening toinclude open and closed ended funds,pension funds and propertycompanies. While the concept of saleand leaseback transactions is not newto the European hotel industry, withAccor having been particularlyaggressive in the market for alternativemethods of funding during the 1990s, itwasn’t until 2001 that this method trulybecame more than a mild flirtation, atleast within the UK hotel industry.
In 2001, sale and leasebacks becamemore than a passing fad: it became clearthat they were to change the futureshape of the hotel industry. Hoteloperators, by divesting themselves ofownership of hotel assets in return forleases and management contracts,would gain a considerable sum ofcapital to be used towardsrefurbishment and to fund acquisitionand development activity. Sale andleaseback, through the release ofcapital, provides the financial meansfor greater pan-Europeanconsolidation, which until now hasbeen starved of appropriate sources offunding. An example of this wasHilton’s sale and leaseback activity,which provided the necessary funds forit to acquire Scandic Hotels.
Troubled times in the global stockmarket have resulted in real estate oncemore becoming a desirable asset inwhich to invest. Net institutionalinvestment in UK commercial propertyis estimated to have totalled €3.75billion in 2001.1 Although thisrepresented a 50% reduction upon therecord levels achieved in 2000, propertyweighting has increased for the pasttwo consecutive years and the long-term outlook for institutional interest in
commercial property remains positive.DTZ Research anticipates higherturnover of property assets in 2002,with net investment expected to be inthe region of €4.2 billion in the UK.Such conditions favour the hotelinvestment market, as there is anabundance of institutional capitalseeking a more diversified propertyinvestment portfolio. As a result, thereis a definite and long-lasting shift inattitude towards private equityinvestment in European hotel realestate.
Who are the winners with respect tosale and leaseback activity? It appearsthat hotel operators who have assets inkey locations, strong brands andconsistent operating standards will bethe most likely to benefit. Sale andleasebacks are particularly attractive tohotel operators for the following threereasons. 1. The capital raised through thismedium provides financing equal to100% of market value, unlike debtfinancing which typically would onlyprovide capital of between 60% and80% of the value; 2. The removal of debt, which isshown as a liability on the balancesheet, will ultimately improve thefinancial and earnings ratios as well asthe return on capital employed; 3. Operators are in a strong bargainingposition at the time of arranging thedeal and are likely to receive a goodrate of return on their investment whileassured of long-term leases andmanagement contracts and theessential capital to fund expansion anddevelopment.
Meanwhile, the three major benefitsenjoyed by investors include:1. The ability to invest in hotel real
2 European Hotel Transactions 2002 HVS International
Figure 2 Portfolio Investment Activity by Buyer Category 2000–02
2002 2001 2000
0%
1%4%
20%5%
0%1%
3%
7%1%
6%1%
9%25%
30%62%
58%
PrivateEquity
JointVenture
HotelInvestment
Company
Individual
RealEstate
Investor
Fund
HotelOperator
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
65%
70%
estate without having the burden ofhotel operations; 2. Sale and leasebacks lend themselvesto passive investors who aim todiversify their property portfoliowithout having the cyclical volatility,due to the long-term stable revenuestream; 3. The benefit of an appreciating asset,and one which is able to be recouped inthe future;
Sale and leasebacks are set tobecome increasingly common with theexpanding pool of private equityinvestors and hotel operators’ relentlessneed to raise capital. Nevertheless, withsale and leaseback activity consideredin some countries as ‘off-balance sheet’,some concern exists over future legalregulations of off-balance sheet activityfollowing the Enron scandal. Sale andleaseback deals are increasingly acombination of both fixed and variablelease structures. The fixed elementallows investors to benefit from aguaranteed income stream, while thevariable element allows the investor tobenefit from the upside of the marketand the growth prospects of the hotelsector.
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)was particularly active in 2001,acquiring 11 Hilton hotels forapproximately €510 million, withHilton keeping operating leases of 20 to30 years with extensions of fixed andvariable portion rents. RBS continuedits aggressive investment stance,providing finance to Nomura’sPrincipal Finance Group (PFG) for thesale and leaseback of six Le Meridienproperties, five Principal Hotels(acquired by Nomura in February 2001)and the Cumberland Hotel (acquiredseparately by Nomura from Compass).Under the agreement, Le Meridienagreed to pay either 25% of the 12
hotels’ revenues or £50 million a year inrent for the 30-year leases, whichever isthe greater. RBS, through the turnoverstructure of the lease, benefits fromabove average growth prospects thatthey envisage within the hotel sector.
In 2002 Thistle Hotels entered into auniquely structured deal with GammaFour, a subsidiary of the propertygroup Orb Estates. The deal involvedsome 31 provincial UK properties andsix London properties, equating tosome 5,500 rooms. Strictly speaking thedeal should be termed a ‘sale andmanagement-back‘ transaction ratherthan a pure sale and leaseback. Thistlesigned 30-year management contractsand has guaranteed a minimumEBITDA of €70 million for the first tenyears. The operator will meet anyshortfalls, capped at twice theminimum EBITDA, with the minimumEBITDA indexed with inflation. Thistleis likely to receive management fees inexcess of €12.5 million per annum. Thecorporate deal transacted for €950million, representing a very lowdiscount on the book value.
In late August 2002, Hiltonannounced that it had successfullycompleted its second sale and leasebackdeal, releasing a further €488 million ofcapital. The deal involved tenproperties, some 2,043 rooms, and ledto the formation of a limitedpartnership between the propertycompany Rotch, the hotel investmentcompany Farnsworth Group, and Bankof Scotland. Hilton itself invested €39million for a 40% equity stake (with theoption to reduce its stake to 20%). Thehotels thus sold for a total of €528million; this contrasts with a book valueof €467 million. Hilton will lease thehotels for a period of 27 years under avariable lease agreement. The leasecharge is based upon 28.8% of turnover
plus a €5 million payment, equating toapproximately €37 million per annumuntil 2004. Thereafter the lease issubject to a minimum guarantee of€27.5 million, which is adjusted in linewith inflation capped at 5%. The leasecharge is higher than the sale andleaseback deal completed with theRoyal Bank of Scotland, but this isconsidered in part to be due to theinclusion of a central London property,which is expected to make asignificantly greater margin than theprovincial UK properties. Hilton’sguaranteed rental payments until 2004,together with its retaining a 40% stakein the assets, are an indication of thecomplexity of completing such a dealduring the current, uncertain tradingenvironment.
Most recently, in October 2002,Jarvis confirmed that it had enteredinto a sale and leaseback agreementwith a private equity consortium led byLioncourt Capital for €237 million inexchange for a 34-year lease. The dealinvolved nine properties, some 1,341rooms, of which three hotels are locatedin London and represent 43% of thebedroom stock. The rent payment,which is linked to turnover, isequivalent to 31% of turnover, and issubject to minimum and maximumpayments of between €15.6 million and€17 million; this represents an initialyield of 7%. The deal confirms thegroup’s intentions to focus on hotelmanagement as opposed to hotelownership, although the weakeconomic environment is thought tohave resulted in the size of the deal tohave been scaled down. Nevertheless,the hotels are reported to have beensold at 101% of their net asset value.
In addition to the fragmentation ofthe Compass portfolio in 2001, whichresulted in the €1.3 billion sale of the
HVS International European Hotel Transactions 2002 3
Table 1 Sale and Leaseback Transactions 2000–02 (€)
Number of Price per
Year Corporate/Portfolio Country Properties Rooms Total Sales Price Room Buyer Seller
2002 Jarvis Hotels UK 9 1,341 237,000,000 177,000 Lioncourt Capital led PE Consortium Jarvis Hotels
2002 Hilton UK 10 2,043 528,000,000 258,000 Rotch, Farnsworth Group, Hilton Hilton International
2000 Premier Hotels UK 8 660 69,000,000 105,000 Accor/London & Regional Premier Hotels
2000 Club Med Hotels Europe 5 2,119 112,000,000 53,000 Gothaer Club Med
1 ’Sale-and-management back’
79-strong Posthouse chain to SixContinents at 7.9 times EBITDA,and the €385 million sale of the 48-strong Heritage Hotels group in a jointventure agreement between MacdonaldHotels and the Bank of Scotland at eighttimes EBITDA, there have been anumber of other significant portfoliotransactions in the European market.
Hilton’s sale and leaseback dealwith RBS provided the necessarycapital to fund a strategic acquisition inthe Scandinavian market. The HiltonGroup surprised the market with theacquisition of Scandic Hotels for over€1 billion in a cash and share offer. Ofthe 154 hotels, 132 are located inScandinavia and the rest in otherEuropean countries. Scandic’s reportedoperating profit in 2001 wasapproximately €75 million, whichrepresents an earnings multiple of 13.4and a yield of approximately 7.5%.
In April 2001 the troubled Swisscompany SAirGroup disposed ofits hotel interests through the saleof Swissôtel to Singapore’s RafflesHoldings for €268 million. Thetransaction enabled Raffles Holdings tosignificantly extend its market coverage,increasing its room inventory by 139% tosome 13,500 rooms; it now operates in 17countries across six continents.
In February 2002 NH Hotelessecured the purchase of an 80%majority stake in Astron Hotels, theGerman owner operator, for €130million, with the option of buying theremaining 20% within three to fouryears. Almost all of the 53 hotels (8,396rooms) are held as leasehold, with anaverage length of 22 years remaining.This transaction reflects an 8.4 multipleon 2001 EBITDA for the 80% transacted.NH Hoteles helped to fund theacquisition through the sale andleaseback of four of its Spanishproperties to the property companyPontegadea Immobiliaria.
The number of portfolio/corporatetransactions in the year-to-date 2002has been far fewer than in theprevious year. This is due to investorserring on the side of caution, thedecline in European-wide operatingperformance, and the differentialsbetween the bid and asking price.Nevertheless, as the European marketrecovers and operating performanceimproves, investor interest andconfidence will be revived, which islikely to mean that investment activityincreases and higher prices areachievable.
Most recently, Accor announced theacquisition of a 30% stake in the
German hotel group Dorint for a pricequoted to be around €50 million, withan option to raise its stake to 55% by2010. The opportunity arose as a resultof the German company’s financialdistress brought about by an aggressiveexpansion plan in 1999–01. Dorintcurrently has 91 hotels, 75 of which arein Germany, and all the hotels areoperated on fixed leases, typical of theGerman hotel market.
Finally, in December 2002, Compasscompleted its sale of the 220-strongTravelodge hotel chain and the 397Little Chef restaurants. The privateequity group Permira emerged as thetriumphant party, agreeing to pay a totalof €111 million. Compass is likely to sealits exit from the hotel business in 2003,with the sale of the Strand Palace and theRegent Palace, some 1,700 rooms, mostlikely. Initially the two assets were tohave been sold to London and Regional;however, it has since been reported thatthe deal failed to complete.
A deal involving four of Starwood’sCiga properties in Italy is understood notto have completed, although Starwoodare endeavouring to sell the fortfolio, yetretain the management of the hotels.
Other possible targets in the quest toconsolidate include Copthorne, JollyHotels, Maritim, Moat Houses, NH
4 European Hotel Transactions 2002 HVS International
2000 Provobis Sweden 17 3,000 71,000 24,000 Scandic
2000 Don Pedro Hotels Spain 28 5,000 72,000 14,000 Airtours
2000 Hotetur Club Spain 19 3,300 47,000 14,000 Airtours
2000 Orbis Poland N/A 10,500 145,000 14,000 Accor (25% stake) led Consortium
2000 Gran Dorado Benelux & Germany N/A 8,664 101,000 12,000 Pierre & Vacances
1 MWB acquired Radisson SAS’s interests in 2002
Hoteles and Steigenberger. Meanwhile,the Thistle group is rumoured to beconsidering further sale and leasebackactivity with its remaining ownedproperties and Le Meridien has revivedplans for a sale and leaseback of ten ofits continental European properties. Interms of likely buyers, the poorperformance of the stock market inrecent times is likely to make propertyinvestment more attractive, withGerman open-ended and closed-endedfunds as well as private equity fundslikely to increase their prominencefurther in the European hotelinvestment market.
ConsolidationBrings Rebranding
Following much consolidationwithin the European hotelmarket, considerable investment
has taken place involving a number ofrebranding exercises and rationalisationof brands.
NH Hoteles’ acquisition of theDutch chain Krasnapolsky has resultedin considerable rebranding. In addition,in February 2002, NH Hoteles sold thecompany Golden Tulip Worldwide andtherefore the rights to the Golden Tulipand Tulip Inn franchises. Thisinstigated the rebranding of all of NHHoteles’ owned and leased GoldenTulip and Tulip Inn hotels to the NHbrand. Most recently the groupannounced that it will invest €8 millionin the rebranding of the Astron groupto the NH flag.
Hilton’s acquisition of Scandic in 2001will result in approximately 20–25properties being converted to the Hiltonbrand in Scandinavia. In addition, eightformer Holiday Inn franchises underScandic ownership have been terminatedand the hotels have been rebranded eitheras Scandic or as Hilton. With theprominence of the mid-market Scandicbrand within the Scandinavian market,coupled with some properties inGermany not meeting Hilton brandstandards, the future of the Scandic brandis set to continue within the Europeanhotel market.
Six Continents’ acquisition ofPosthouse in 2001 has resulted in theentire portfolio being converted to theHoliday Inn brand. Seven hotelsearmarked for disposal at the time ofthe acquisition have since been sold,providing additional sales at the lowerend of the single asset transactionmarket.
Sol Meliá’s acquisition of TrypHoteles in 2000 resulted in a newbranding structure for the group, with
Tryp becoming the brand for thegroup’s city hotels in both the three-starand the four-star categories.
Marketing Alliancesand FranchiseAgreements
While the European hotel markethas experienced extensiveconsolidation in recent times,
there is also a growing trend towardsstrategic alliances. Such a practice allowsthe parties concerned to extend theirgeographical exposure, widen their salesand marketing distribution channels,and provides benefits to both thecustomers and the companies concerned,without the need to acquire andamalgamate the two existing portfolios.
In September 2002 Rezidor SASHospitality entered into an agreementwith Carlson Hotels that entitles it tohold the 30-year master franchise forthe Regent, Park Inn and Country Inns& Suites brands in Europe, the MiddleEast and Africa. Rezidor will gaincontrol of existing management andfranchise contracts for these brands andwill continue to extend the reach ofthese three brands alongside theRadisson SAS brand to total some 700hotels within the next ten years.
In May 2002 Raffles Internationaland Hotel Okura Co. of Japan formed astrategic alliance to explore businessopportunities in areas including hoteldevelopment, securing of managementcontracts, marketing and procurementopportunities. Hotel Okura comprises23 hotels, 16 of which are located inJapan; Raffles, which operates underthe Swissôtel and Raffles brands, hassome 39 hotels.
In August 2001 Le Meridien andNikko Hotels announced an expansionof their global strategic alliance, formedin 2000, which encompassed all NikkoHotels’ properties outside of Japan andChina. The alliance has been extendedto include all Nikko hotels. Together,the alliance provides a combinedworldwide network of 169 propertieswithin 63 countries.
In June 2001 the UK group JarvisHotels entered into a 20-year franchisedeal with Marriott International, underwhich 56 of its 66 hotels have since beenrebranded as Ramada Jarvis.Eventually, the co-branding is expectedto disappear altogether, leaving just theRamada name. More recently, in June2002, Jarvis entered into a secondfranchise deal, with the US giantCendant. Under the terms of the dealJarvis will manage budget hotels underthe Days Inn and Howard Johnson
brands. This latest deal is part of thecompany’s plan to transform itself intoa hotel operator rather than owner,repositioning itself as a hotelmanagement services group.
In May 2001 Millennium &Copthorne (M&C) announced that it hadentered into a global strategic marketingalliance with Maritim Hotels. Thealliance provided Maritim with instantmarketing exposure in key gatewaycities throughout Europe, Asia and theUSA. Meanwhile, M&C will benefit fromMaritim’s strong foothold in the Germanmarket. Together, the alliance provides acombined portfolio of some 130 hotels,totalling some 35,000 rooms.
Sources ofInvestment Capital
By reviewing the types of buyersactive in the European hotelmarket, it is evident that
investment capital is available througha variety of sources. The prevalence oftrade buyers, which represented some57% and 40% of total single assetinvestment activity in 1999 and 2000respectively, has been shown to haveweakened considerably in 2001 and2002. Indeed, diversity in today’scompetitive investment market isbecoming more apparent, resulting inreal change to the capital structures ofhotel ownership.
Increasingly, dynamic andinnovative means of financing aretaking place, with the European hotelinvestment market witnessing anotable shift away from public equityto that of private equity in the form ofprivate equity players, propertycompanies and institutions. There is agrowing trend of splitting hotelownership from management, withjoint ventures, partnerships and saleand leasebacks all becoming familiarterminology within the realm of hotelfinancing. Such methods of financinghotel real estate are in fact not new,having been practised within Franceand Germany for some considerabletime. However, the fundamentaldifference now is that a number offactors, such as the increasing desire tobenefit from a more diversified andbalanced portfolio, and the transfer ofcapital from the depressed stockmarkets to that of propertyinvestment, have had the effect ofwidening the range of investmentmedia available to hotel real estate.Alternative methods of financinghotels can no longer be consideredsimply as a phenomenon, but truly anestablished and sophisticated form ofhotel financing.
HVS International European Hotel Transactions 2002 5
In addition to private equityfunding, new sources of financing havecome through the establishment ofdevelopment funds, very often in theform of a joint venture agreementbetween the operator and the investor.Examples include partnershipsbetween Macdonald Hotels, inconjunction with Royal BankDevelopment Capital, and the Bank ofScotland; a joint venture agreementbetween Hanover and the Bank ofScotland, which has created theinvestment vehicle Tweed Investments;and a joint venture between RoccoForte Hotels and the Bank of Scotland.
An alternative source of capital has
stemmed directly from propertycompanies. Active players includeMarylebone Warwick Balfour (MWB),which has invested in the HowardHotel (managed by Swissôtel) andownership of the Malmaison portfolio.London & Regional, another propertycompany, is also active, havingpurchased the boutique TrafalgarHotel in London and more recently amajority stake in the Hilton on ParkLane. It also purchased eight Premierhotels and subsequently leased themto Accor. The Burford Group is anotherexample; the company has formed a
joint venture with Ian Schrager andhas since opened two hotels inLondon.
Finally, direct institutional fundingis also a new source of capital. In 1999Norwich Union, the UK pension fund,purchased nine Hilton hotels andsubsequently leased them to JarvisHotels. This is perhaps the first knownexample of a deal involving part fixedand part variable lease structures. Sincethen a number of dedicated hotel fundshave been formed in which institutionshold direct equity stakes; one exampleis MWB’s hotel fund, which enlistsinstitutional investors such as NorwichUnion, Clerical Medical and Scottish
Widows. One further example worthyof mention is that of the partnershipformed between the British AirportsAuthority (BAA) and a number ofdirect institutional investors. The deal,which involved eight airport hotels inthe UK (six are located at eitherGatwick or Heathrow), is based uponturnover-based leases with a minimumguarantee, and BAA retaining aminority equity stake.
This new intensity in private equityfunding makes strategic and goodbusiness sense for both partiesconcerned. From the hotel operator’s
perspective such innovative dealsallow it to focus on the managementaspect, and moreover provide theopportunity for a wider spread ofcapital, thus accelerating brandexposure. From a property investor’sperspective, despite hotel markets’cyclical nature and volatility, an aboveaverage return is achieved over thelong term. Moreover, hotel assets areincreasingly sought after to provide analternative to office and retailinvestments, providing a morediversified and balanced portfolio.
European quoted hotel companiesare relatively few in number and arecharacterised by a relatively small
market capitalisation when comparedto other industries. Sentiment towardshotel stocks has in recent times beenrelatively weak, and failure to raisesufficient capital through the equitymarkets has resulted in companiesincreasingly seeking alternativemethods of financing. With hotelcompanies very often trading at adiscount to their net asset value, theopportunity to divest hotel ownershipto savvy property investors and otherhotel investment vehicles provides awelcome impetus for change in thecapital structures of the European
6 European Hotel Transactions 2002 HVS International
Figure 3 Single Asset Hotel Investment by Buyer Category 1999–02
Source: HVS International Research
2002
2000
2001
1999
Private Equity
3%
Hotel
Operator
22%
Fund
7%Individual
4%
Hotel
Investment
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23%
Real Estate
Investor
41%
Private
Equity
2%
Hotel
Operator
42%
Fund
9%
Individual
9%
Hotel
Investment
Company
9%
Real Estate
Investor
29%
Hotel
Operator
57%Fund
12%
Individual
2%
Hotel
Investment
Company
10%
Real Estate
Investor
19%
Private Equity
22%
Hotel
Operator
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Fund
15%Individual
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Real Estate
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27%
hotel market. Furthermore, with therecent troubles in the global stockmarkets, liquidity in hotel real estate isset to increase as investors seek toincrease the weighting of real estate ingeneral and hotel assets in theirportfolios.
Particular trends in recent timeshave witnessed German funds lookingincreasingly outside their domesticmarkets and institutional investorscontinuing to gain a stronger footholdwithin hotel real estate, with pensionfunds becoming increasingly active.Meanwhile, private equity finance,such as Tweed Investments andNomura Principal Finance, hasprovided a wealth of capital.Nevertheless, US investors whohistorically sought quality assets inprimary locations within markets thathave a strong US exposure are nowexercising caution due to the recessionin their home market. Instead, USinvestors have become far moreparticular in terms of their assetselection to avoid over reliance on asingle source market.
Conclusions andOutlook
The outlook for European hoteloperating markets is positivefollowing the challenging times
experienced after a substantialslowdown in the global economy,
compounded by the terrorist atrocitiesin the USA. Nevertheless, thepossibility of war with Iraq and the riskof further terrorist attacks are likely tohave an impact upon the future tradingenvironment especially while there isuncertainty as to when suchconflagrations may erupt.
The strength of the European hotelinvestment market in 2001 prior to 11September was phenomenal, resultingin record levels of investment activityin both single asset and portfolio salestransactions. This was due to a numberof late deals completing from theprevious year and a particularly strongyear with respect to portfoliotransactions. However, the real effect ofthe slowdown in the economy has beenfelt in 2002, and this is true with respectto hotel investment activity. The first sixmonths of 2002 were particularly quiet,due to the caution exercised bypotential investors, a lack of suitableproducts available, due to the difficultyin pricing assets in troublesome times,the difference in price expectationsbetween the buyer and the seller andlittle pressure from lenders to sell assetsat below market prices. Nevertheless,2002 has witnessed an impressive rosterof both single asset and corporate deals,and the investment market is expectedto continue to strengthen and resumethe traits and trends set in the previousyears.
Investment activity is likely to beincreasingly characterised by innovative
financing structures, previously morethe norm for other asset classes. Theincreased weighting of the real estatesector, particularly by pension fundsand institutional investors, is likely toresult in greater hotel investmentactivity. Investment in hotel real estatelooks set to become more than just aflirtation, as both property and financialinvestors become more accustomed todetermining hotel-sector risk. In themedium term, this will increaseinvestment by those institutions thatwould traditionally shy away from‘revenue-generating’ property, thereforeincreasing portfolio diversification.
Sale and leaseback deals areexpected to become more numerous asoperators seek to remove themselvesfrom the burden of real estateownership, concentrating instead onwhat they know best – hotelmanagement. This is likely to increasenet asset value to share prices andimprove financing capabilities andratings.
As a result, further consolidation inthe European hotel sector can beexpected both among hotel owners –institutions, banks, private equityhouses and investment funds – andhotel operators seeking to extend theirpenetration and distribution.
1 Money Into Property, edition 27 – DTZ Research2002
HVS International European Hotel Transactions 2002 7
Table 3 Top Single Asset Investment Transactions 2001–02 (€)
Sales Price
Year Hotel Location Star Rating Rooms Sales Price Per Room Buyer
2002 Hilton Park Lane London 5 450 247,652,000 550,000 London & Regional/Land Securities
2002 Hyatt Regency Budapest 5 353 50,000,000 142,000 HVB-Leasing Hungary
2002 Hotel Praha Prague 4 120 16,934,000 141,000 Falcon Capital
2002 Novotel Düsseldorf Düsseldorf 4 232 32,499,000 140,000 Deutsche Bank Subsidiary
2001 Hotel Arts1 Barcelona 5 482 285,000,000 591,000 Deutsche Bank Private Equity/Patron Capital Partners
2001 Swan Diplomat Hotel Berkshire UK 46 9,875,000 215,000 Nike Group Hotell Diplomat AB
2001 Crowne Plaza (Project) Birmingham UK 242 39,428,000 163,000 Six Continents David Mclean Developments
2001 Chamberlain Tower Hotel Birmingham UK 695 66,171,000 95,000 Jurys Doyle Hotels Chamberlain Hotel Group
HV
S InternationalEuropean H
otel Transactions 2002 11
EUROPEAN SINGLE ASSET HOTEL TRANSACTIONS 2000–02 (€)
Sale Property City Country Rooms Sales Price Sales Price per Buyer Seller
Date Room
2001 Chamberlain Park Hotel Birmingham UK As Chamberlain Tower Hotel Jurys Doyle Hotels Chamberlain Hotel Group
2001 Chamberlain Park Hotel Birmingham UK 250 13,578,000 54,000 Cockpit Hotels Jurys Doyle Hotels
2001 Cedar Court Hotel Bradford UK 131 23,609,000 180,000 Tweed Investments Acropolis hotels (Sirdar Estates)
2001 Burstin Hotel Folkestone UK 481 18,894,000 39,000 Grand Hotel Group Leisure Great Britain
2001 Four Seasons Hampshire (Project) Hampshire UK 120 12,633,000 105,000 Rochamel Construction Systems/Four Seasons Union Holdings
2001 Sundridge Park Kent, Bromley UK 151 24,687,000 163,000 Tweed Investments PA Consulting Group
2001 Holiday Inn Express Leeds Leeds UK 112 11,592,000 104,000 Standard Life Investments Ltd Premier Hotels
2001 Holiday Inn Express Albert Dock Liverpool UK 117 8,978,000 77,000 Centre Island EHI Development
2001 Kensington Hotel London UK 226 50,385,000 223,000 Lancaster Landmark Hotel Group n/a
2001 Cumberland Hotel London UK 894 238,308,000 267,000 Nomura Principal Finance Compass Group
2001 Albany Hotel London UK 79 8,231,000 104,000 Private Individual Kuwaiti Algerian Investment Co.
2001 Berners Hotel London UK 216 83,908,000 388,000 JJW Hotels & Resorts SAIF Inc.
2001 Holiday Inn Heathrow London, Heathrow UK 230 50,385,000 219,000 Standard Life Investment Funds BDL Hotels
2001 Heathrow Park Hotel London, Heathrow UK 309 22,063,000 71,000 Private Company Equitable Life Assurance Society
2001 Kensington Edwardian Hotel London UK 69 12,339,000 179,000 Private Individual Kuwaiti Algerian Investment Co
2001 Knightsbridge Hotel London UK 50 14,807,000 296,000 Firmdale Hotels n/a
2001 Hotel Europe London UK 100 15,630,000 156,000 Private Individual n/a
2001 Radisson SAS Manchester Airport Manchester UK 360 61,697,000 171,000 n/a Radisson SAS - Rezidor
2001 Prince of Wales Stockport UK 103 7,578,000 74,000 Britannia Hotels Paramount Hotels
2001 Dunchurch Conference Centre Rugby UK 79 8,896,000 113,000 First! Venues Ltd Jarvis Hotels/Marconi
2001 Buchanan Arms Hotel Loch Lomond UK 52 28,152,000 541,000 Stonefield Castle Group Paramount Hotels
2001 Hilton Stoke on Trent Stoke UK 136 8,229,000 61,000 Prince Hotel Group Hilton International
2001 Park Royal International Hotel Warrington, Cheshire UK 142 35,373,000 249,000 Tweed Investments Mossley
2001 Bishopstrow House Hotel Warminster, Wiltshire UK 33 8,089,000 245,000 Von Essen Hotels Private Investors
2001 Hilton Edinburgh Belford Edinburgh UK 378 44,025,000 116,000 Menzies Hotels Hilton International
2001 Hilton Newcastle Newcastle UK As Hilton Edinburgh Menzies Hotels Hilton International
2001 Hilton Bath Waterside Bath UK As Hilton Edinburgh Menzies Hotels Hilton International
12 European Hotel Transactions 2002 HVS International
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Philippa Bock is an Associate with HVSInternational’s London Office. She joined
HVS Internationalin February 2000having worked invarious manage-ment roles withinthe Europeanhotel industryand holds a firstclass BSc (Hons)degree in Hoteland CateringM a n a g e m e n t
from Oxford Brookes University. Philippawas responsible for the HVS Research depart-ment before joining the consultancy team inSeptember 2001, during which time she pio-neered the successful news journal HVSHospitality Enews. Since then, she has con-ducted several valuation and consultancyassignments in the UK and Europe.
Bernard Forster is a Director with HVSInternational's London Office. He joined HVS
International in1997, previouslyworking in the ITsector as well asseveral years invarious hoteloperational man-agement roles inSwitzerland andLondon. Bernardholds an MScin Property
Investment from City University London, aswell as a BSc in Hotel Management fromOxford Brookes University. He has advisedon hotels throughout Europe, the Middle Eastand Africa.
OFFICES:
LondonRussell Kett Charles Human Simon HudspethDominique BourdaisBernard Forster14 Hallam StreetLondon W1W 6JGUnited Kingdom+44-20-7878-7700+44-20-7436-3386 fax
MadridLaurent de KousemaeberPaseo de la Castellana 93-228046 Madrid, Spain+34-91-597-4635+34-91-597-3054 fax
New York372 Willis AvenueMineola, New York 11501, USA+1-516-248-8828+1-516-742-3059 fax
San Francisco116 New Montgomery St, Suite 620San Francisco, California 94105,USA+1-415-896-0868 x 108+1-415-896-0516 fax
Miami8925 SW 148th Street, Suite 216Miami, Florida 33176, USA+1-305-378-0404 x 11+1-305-378-4484 fax
H V S I N T E R N AT I O N A LEUROPEAN HOTELTRANSACTIONS 2002
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