Invesco Real Estate (IRE), the international property investment manager, is pleased to announce the launch of a second pan-European hotel fund (hotel fund II) with an exclusivity agreement to purchase a 168 million seed portfolio.
The seed portfolio has been secured by IRE's specialist hotel team via its relationships with major international hotel operators. The portfolio fits the criteria of hotel fund II's strategy, which is to invest in mid-market, modern hotels in strategic locations near city centers, airports and convention centers in the Euro zone, focused on long leases and operated by established national or international hotel operators with recognized brands.
The second hotel fund is expected to build on the successful track record of hotel fund I. The first hotel fund closed in November 2006 with 350 mln. of equity and today represents a pan-European, multi-brand portfolio of 16 modern, mid-market hotels across nine countries with a gross asset value in excess of 650 mln.
Simon Redman, Head of Product Management at Invesco Real Estate says: "Hotels are part of a strategic growth sector, providing a stable income product underpinned by strong covenants and rental guarantees. The branded hotel market is a growth sector and such hotels are more fundable, saleable and offer stable high income potential. With low brand penetration in Europe, this provides opportunities for consolidation within the sector and opportunities for institutional investors wanting to invest into this alternative real estate."
"We are pleased to be able to provide institutional investors with access to this specialist real estate asset class via our team of six hotel sector specialists. We believe that timing is optimal for hotel investment activity as asset pricing remains low whilst hotel trading has shown strong signs of improvement across Europe."
Source: Invesco Real Estate
