NH Hotel Group strengthens its relationship with Covivio with the addition of over 1,000 rooms in an agreement to operate eight benchmark properties from the former Boscolo portfolio. Minor International's subsidiary will operate a portfolio of eight hotels with a total of 1,115 rooms in prime locations in Europe, in Italy, France, Czech Republic and Hungary.

NH Hotel Group has entered into an agreement with Covivio, one of the key European real estate operators, which will consolidate its commitment to the luxury hotel segment while reinforcing its leadership in Italy and boosting its prominent position in competitive markets of France and Eastern Europe.  The Group will operate a unique portfolio of eight high-end hotels with prime locations in Rome, Florence, Venice, Nice, Prague and Budapest acquired by the real estate investor from the Boscolo portfolio, which includes iconic hotels such as the Palazzo Naiadi in Rome, the Carlo IV in Prague, the Plaza in Nice and the NY Palace in Budapest.

NH Hotels will operate the properties under a sustainable long-term variable lease with minimum guaranteed rent, including a shortfall cap mechanism, with extension rights for NH Hotel Group. The agreement has an initial duration of 15 years, extendible at NH Hotel Group's option to a period of not less than 15 years. The closing of the transaction is expected to be fully complete by the end of the first half of 2020. The handover of the hotels will take place at the same time of the closing, except for the hotels in Florence and Nice -currently under a full refurbishment-, expected by June 2020 and January 2021 respectively.
 

Ramón Aragonés, CEO of NH Hotel Group, commented on the deal:

Following our integration with Minor Hotels, this transaction represents an extremely important milestone in our shared ambition to continue to expand the luxury brand Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas in Europe, while marking significant progress on our strategy of creating added value for NH Collection´s customer base via new hotels and destinations. This agreement reinforces the collaboration between Covivio and NH Hotel Group, which dates back to 2014 and has since unlocked advantageous deals for both parties in the Netherlands and Germany.   

Mr. Dillip Rajakarier, Group CEO of MINT and CEO of Minor Hotels:

MINT and NHH have been leveraging on both parties’ strengths for cross-expansion. We are very excited about the potential of the Anantara brand in Europe. Anantara’s brand strength, coupled with NHH’s strong relationship with real estate investors has enabled us to expand our luxury hotel portfolio in Europe at a much faster pace. Following the launch of Anantara Villa Padierna Palace in Spain in July and the signing in October of a hotel in Dublin, Ireland, to be rebranded to Anantara in 2020, this strategic transaction will notably strengthen the presence of our luxury Anantara brand in key privileged destinations in Europe.