JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group has advised Starwood Hotels & Resorts Group in the sale of two trophy assets in Florence for a total sale price of approximately €190m. The St. Regis Hotel, which has 99 rooms, and the Westin Excelsior Hotel, with 171 rooms have been acquired by Qatar based Nozul Hotels & Resorts Group.
Roberto Galano, executive vice president of JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group in Italy, commented: “Florence is one of the most active Italian luxury hotel markets, and this was a rare opportunity to invest in two of its most prestigious properties as part of Starwood’s stated strategy of exiting or transferring a number of its owned assets. JLL’s deep understanding of its clients’ business objectives and the strong relationship we have with both the seller and the buyer in this particular case, were key factors that contributed to the success of the deal, along with recovering economic fundamentals, increasing demand for the luxury segment and the stable supply in Florence.”
Amr El Nady, vice president of JLL’s Global Hotel Desk based in Dubai, added: “The successful completion of this deal underlines our emphasis on understanding our clients’ objectives, as well as our deep and broad network, and our understanding of how market and economic sentiment play out in the hotels sector worldwide. We are delighted to have supported a landmark transaction in the Italian investment market. The transaction also highlights the sustained appetite from Middle East investors for high quality trophy hotel assets around the world, operated by the right strategic partner – in this case, Starwood Hotels & Resorts.”
Nozul Hotels & Resorts Group has been active in other parts of the Italian hotels market, having recently bought the Gritti Palace in Venice in a similarly high profile transaction.
