The first portfolio was bought from the investment fund Moor Park Fund I and II, for a total of 722 million euros. It includes 86 hotels for 11,286 rooms, 67 of which are in Germany and 19 in the Netherlands. Sold to these funds in 2007 for 700 million euros, with a commitment to finance works for 50 million euros, this portfolio was operated by the group Accor through variable leases, under the brands ibis (29 hotels), ibis budget (31 hotels), Mercure (17 hotels) and Novotel (9 hotels). 

The group also entered into exclusive negotiations with Axa Real Estate for a second portfolio, including 11 hotels and 1,592 rooms in Switzerland. This portfolio has been operated by Accor since 2008 under variable-rent leases and the following brands ibis (5 hotels), ibis budget (2 hotels), Novotel (3 hotels) and MGallery (1 hotel).

"They are fully aligned with our selective asset acquisition criteria: hotels located in key European cities and delivering excellent operating performance in our most profitable segments," declared Sébastien Bazin, President and CEO Accor.

The acquisitions will be paid cash drawn on its war chest of some 2 billion euros available in the group’s accounts. "This money only earns 1.5% in financial investments while the acquired assets should generate a return on investment of around 6.8%," explains the P-CEO to justify the relative effect announced for the operating results from 2014.  

The HotelInvest team currently focusses on the management of 1,400 hotels, including 300 in subsidiaries and 1,100 under lease. The priority is to improve this portfolio’s profitability by modifying its financial structure and taking advantage of opportunities to acquire properties that are particularly profitable that are already under lease contracts. Sébastien Bazin indicates that at a later stage it is not impossible that HotelInvest may acquire hotels from owners of properties they have under management contracts. 

The role of HotelInvest is also to finance new constructions in strategic locations. “No pressure is placed on teams; we have announced that this strategy will be unfurled as opportunities arise in the two to three years ahead,” insists Sébastien Bazin.