Adina Apartment Hotels, Europe's newest developer, owner and operator of upper market apartment hotels, has announced plans for further expansion in Europe, increasing its presence in Germany and entering the UK market.
Adina is actively pursuing potential site acquisitions and is in early stage discussions with prospective co-investors for new projects in Germany and the UK, but also considers major markets like France and Spain to have immense potential. As one of only a few firms with a four star-plus offering, Adina is well placed to take advantage of this untapped market, offering serviced apartments and suites in European central city locations.
Adina's Director for Europe, Andrew Hunter, said: "Our first hotel opened in Germany last year and we have committed to a further four projects in Berlin, Frankfurt and Hamburg which will be open by the middle of next year. For our first year of trading in Berlin, occupancy will be almost 70% which is already above average for the city and was achieved in spite of the difficulties faced by upper end hotels in Berlin. This early success provides a solid platform for the next phase of our expansion in Europe."
Adina is targeting institutional investors as prospective funding partners in its expansion. For investors, Adina believes its attraction lies in its proven ability to maximise performance through efficiency and operate with lower volatility compared to traditional hotels smoothing out income fluctuation through seasonal and economic cycles.
Adina is currently funded by its parent in Australia and Toga's property fund set up in 2005. It is the group's intention to establish a similar funding vehicle in Europe to support the long-term growth of the business. The new fund would target initial assets totalling 200 million with the opportunity to grow by a further 100 million per year thereafter. Adina's apartment hotels typically range from 32 million to 35 million per property.
Adina Apartment Hotels is a subsidiary of the Toga Group, one of Australia's largest private groups with interests in property development and investment. It operates Vibe Hotels, Medina Apartment Hotels and Travelodge Hotels in Australia and New Zealand and first entered the European market with hotels in Budapest and Copenhagen.
Mr Hunter added: "We believe that the apartment hotels sector is relatively under developed in the European market and our product has the advantage of appealing to both the corporate and leisure travel markets, providing value to the consumer compared to traditional hotels."
As well as ample space Adina's average one-bed is 42-45 m² - guests can enjoy the many lifestyle facilities offered at most Adina Apartment Hotels such as restaurants, a fully equipped gymnasium, swimming pool, sauna, spa, meeting facilities and minibar. Other services also include 24 hour reception, undercover parking, same day dry cleaning and laundry service.
Details of the new openings in Germany for 2009 and 2010 are:
- Frankfurt, Neue Opern 134 apartments due for completion in September 2009
- Berlin, Hauptbahnhof 139 apartments due for completion in October 2009
- Berlin, Hackschermarkt 145 apartments due for completion in mid-2010
- Hamburg, Michel 128 apartments due for completion in mid-2010
Source: FD
