Union Investment has secured the Holiday Inn Warsaw – City Centre development project for its open-ended real estate fund Unilmmo: Deutschland. A corresponding forward purchase agreement was signed in Warsaw. The turnkey purchase is subject to the standard closing conditions for this type of real estate transaction and will take effect on completion of the hotel in 2018.
Austrian company UBM Development AG will construct the hotel on Twarda Street in Warsaw by Q1 2018 and operate it for Union Investment until 2038. Day-to-day management will be handled by the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) under the Holiday Inn brand.
Construction work on the Holiday Inn Warsaw – City Centre will begin in Q1 2016 and is scheduled to last for 22 months. The architecture of the hotel was inspired by New York's Flatiron Building. In keeping with the high environmental standards of Union Investment and UBM, the hotel will be developed as a green building, with the aim of achieving LEED Gold certification. The hotel will have 254 rooms, a 24-hour restaurant with a bar and extensive conference facilities. A gym on the 16th floor will offer panoramic views across the Polish capital.
The hotel site is just 500m from the Palace of Culture and Złote Tarasy, a major commercial, office and entertainment complex. The main station can be reached on foot in 10 minutes, and Warsaw's Chopin Airport is a 20-minute taxi ride away. The hotel’s proximity to the Royal Castle and historic old town is expected to attract tourists as well as business guests.
“UBM will develop the property and be responsible as leaseholder for the successful running of the hotel until 2038,” said UBM CEO Karl Bier, commenting on the investment model. “Through this forward purchase arrangement, we have secured a hotel at the project stage in a very good inner-city location in Warsaw which is an excellent addition to the Unilmmo: Deutschland portfolio,” said Andreas Löcher, head of investment management hotels at Union Investment Real Estate GmbH, Hamburg.
