A joint venture led by Catella Hospitality Europe (CHE) and Extendam has acquired the largest Holiday Inn in France, encouraged by the core belief regarding the prosperity of the hotel sector despite Covid-19. This transaction exhibits the ability for the two firms to navigate in a market which came to a standstill due to the pandemic, but which will remain driven by long-lasting fundamentals post-crisis.
Ideally situated in the immediate vicinity of Paris, by the newly built Tribunal Judiciaire, the Holiday Inn Paris Porte de Clichy is a midscale business-oriented hotel of 262 rooms, and one of the largest hotels in Paris’ conurbation. The property, which was acquired from a Swiss family office at a significant discount compared to Pre-Covid prices, had historically been impacted by the continuous development works disruption in the close vicinity.
Catella Hospitality Europe and Extendam believe there remains significant value to be created, especially taking into consideration the general uplift of the micro-location. Clichy is regarded as one of the most dynamic redevelopment areas next to Paris and already witnessed the emergence of numerous corporate offices and of premium residential projects. By January 2021, the neighbourhood will complete its rejuvenation with the extension of the metro line 14, part of the “Grand Paris” project.
The managing partners, at Catella Hospitality Europe, said: “The team of Catella Hospitality Europe is thrilled to begin working on the repositioning of such iconic asset in order to capture the full upside associated with the market recovery and Paris outstanding outlook in the years to come”.
Jean-Marc Palhon, President of Extendam, said: "To the good ingredients of this deal has been added the identification of additional extremely strong rebounding capacities emerging post-crisis. Our experience of more than 10 years as a pure player in European hotel investment, coupled with our long-lasting support of operating partners in the sector has shown us that periods of crisis are periods during which investment in this sector is not only necessary but also strategic. Paradoxically, these periods offer the best vintages of private equity when we know how to identify them. It was in this context, and amid the lockdown that, last spring, we seized this investment opportunity".
