Accor expressed its commitment to develop its portfolio of lifestyle hotels, with the acquisition of all the brands of the American group sbe as well as its exclusive negotiations with the startup Ennismore.

As part of its asset-light strategy, Accor today announced the finalisation of the acquisition of the sbe Group, which to date has 22 hotels under the Delano, Mondrian, SLS and Hyde brands, in addition to 40 new hotels, including the Mondrian London and SLS Dubai, which are scheduled to open in 2021.

Furthermore, almost all the group's restaurants and bars were also sold to the Accor group, including the Cleo, Fili'a and Carna by Dario Cecchini brands.

The acquisition is "carried out through an exchange of assets and cash, and involves an investment of €300 million for Accor, almost all of which is related to the repayment of sbe's debt," the group said.

At the same time, exclusive negotiations are currently underway with the British start-up Ennismore. Accor intends to become the majority shareholder of Ennismore, with the aim of developing its presence in the lifestyle hotel industry. The association of the two contractors should be formalized in the first half of 2021.

Accor announces that "70 other projects" are under study and more than "150 restaurants and bars", with the aim of creating "the world's largest lifestyle hotel operator", which tends to shift away from the standardized framework of traditional brands.

"For many years, lifestyle, entertainment and places with a soul have been at the heart of our development and growth strategy. This partnership with Ennismore's founder, Sharan Pasricha, and his talented teams will give new impetus to our ambition in the lifestyle sector," said Sébastien Bazin, CEO of Accor.