Qatar fund buys Barcelona’s Renaissance Hotel for €78.5 million

Barcelona (ACN).- An investment fund from Qatar has bought the Hotel Renaissance, located in the Eixample neighbourhood of the Catalan capital. Inici del formulariAccording to La Vanguardianewspaper, the transaction was closed at the price of €78.5 million. The Marriott Group will continue running the establishment as the agreement provides for a long-term management, but the Qatari buyer will participate in the most strategic decisions. The hotel passed from having four-stars when it belonged to AC Hotels, to five stars, after being purchased by the Marriott Group. Its workforce expanded considerably to reach a hundred employees after its re-opening in March 2012. The hotel features 211 rooms and had an average occupancy of 67 % during its first opening year. A few weeks ago, North-American Hyatt announced it would set up a Grand Hyatt Hotel in Barcelona's Agbar Tower, which would be bought by an investment fund for €150 million. The US hotel company will invest a further €35 million to transform the 145-metre-tall building into one of its grand luxe hotels, with several restaurants and a view point open to the public

According to the newspaper, the investment fund from the Armed Forces of Qatar (Qafip), which have little presence in the hotel sector, has bought the hotel. General Thani al- Kuwari said that his aim is also to invest in the most important cities in Europe like Paris and London.

Out of the approximately €78 million the transaction was closed at, €45 million were paid in cash and €33 million in related obligations, as sources of the Marriott Group have confirmed in a press release.

Barcelona is a “key entranceway” according to the Marriot Group

The Marriot Group has eight hotels in Barcelona, including l’Hotel Arts, two establishments from the Renaissance chain, and five from AC Hotels, one of the largest hotel chains in Spain.

The CEO of the European Branch of Marriott International, Amy McPherson, said that Barcelona is a “key entranceway and one of the most popular destinations in the world”. She insisted she was sure of the viability of the transaction with an investment fund of the Qatari armed forces (Qafip)

Marriott is based in Bethesda, in the State of Maryland, United States. It owns 3,900 properties spread across 72 countries and the company’s revenues reached $11.81 billion in 2012.