GBR: Investment “fever” in the Greek hotel industry | Greece is “leading” in the tourism investment sector

The investment “barrage” in the Greek hotel industry will continue in 2024, along with the entry of international “players” operating in luxury tourism, raising the level of the country’s hotel product, as the latest data from the research company GBR Consulting confirm.

In January 2024 it was announced that H Hotels Collection, Hatzilazarou Group, acquired the 5-star Rhodes Bay Hotel & Spa including Elite Suites Rhodes Bay with a total room count of 357 from the British London & Regional Group, which acquired the property in 2017. L+R also owns the 4-star Titania in Athens and is participating in a joint venture for the development of a 5-star mixed use resort in the area of Kalo Livadi in Mykonos. With the acquisition, H Hotels has a total of 7 hotels and more than 2,300 rooms in Rhodes making it the largest local chain in Greece.

At the beginning of January 2024 it was announced that Prodea sold the 207-room Dolce Milan Malpensa in Italy and the 5-star 74-room Lazart Hotel in Thessaloniki to Zeus International. The property was acquired in 2018 by NBG PANGAEA REIC (today known as Prodea Investments) for € 7 million. Zeus International leased the property as from 2017. With these deals, 9 out of 20 hotels in the portfolio of Zeus International are owned.

Furthermore, it was announced that MVH Mediterranean Hospitaly Venture Plc sold the remaining 50%

stake in Aphrodite Hills Resort Limited to W.R.A. Consultants (WRA), an interest of the Nicolaides brothers, who also run Atlantica Hotels. MVH acquired in November 2021 100% of the shares of Aphrodite Hills Resort Limited and sold in September 2022 the first 50% to WRA.

MVH was owned by Prodea Real Estate Investment SA (25%), Flowpulse Limited (20%) and Ascetico

Limited (55%), which is owned by Yoda Plc, an interest of Ioannis Papalekas (Globalworth). In December 2023 it was announced that Prodea acquired the 55% from Ascetico Limited, bringing Prodea’s share of MVH to 80%. In January 2024 it was reported that the € 254 million transaction was completed.

After the above mentioned deals MVH – 80% Prodea and 20% Flowpulse – owns in terms of hotels:

– Cyprus: the 5-star Parklane – Luxury Collection in Limassol, the 5-star Landmark Nicosia, Autograph

Collection (the former Hilton) planned for opening at the end of 2024 and a residential and office

tower on the same property.

– Greece: the 5-star Nikki Beach in Port Heli and the 242-room Porto Paros in Greece. In December

2021 the Greek subsidiary of MVH entered into pre-agreements for its acquisition (media reported

€ 57 million), but we understand that the transaction has not yet been completed. The 4-star hotel

will redeveloped into a luxury resort.

Prodea owns in terms of hospitality assets in Greece the Moxy Patra, the Moxy Athens City through

Rinacita SA, Ergon House in Athens and 49% of V Tourism SA, owner of the White Coast Pool Suites in

Milos, which was purchased in December 2022. The remaining 51% belongs to Invel, which controls

Prodea.

Finally, in January 2024 it was made public that Yoda PLC acquired a 5.22% stake in Prodea.

At the beginning of January 2024 Intracom Holdings announced the acquisition of a 71.31% stake for an

amount of € 4.3 million of the company Simou Brothers, which owns the 4-star 50-room Koufonisia Hotel located on Koufounisia island in the Cyclades. The loans of Simou Brothers were part of the Tethys deal, which we reported in Q1 2023.

Beginning November 2022 Blackstone announced that it has agreed to sell a 35% stake in Spanish group Hotel Investment Partners (HIP) to GIC. The financial times reported that the deal values HIP at more than € 4 billion. HIP currently owns 73 hotels offering 21,831 rooms with most of the properties located in the Canary Islands (45%), but also in the Peninsular Coast and the Balearic Islands (38%) and in Italy & Greece (17%). The portfolio in Greece consists of 7 properties offering 1,708 rooms:

– In Crete, the 5-star Creta Princess Aquapark & Spa (418 rooms) and the 5-star Domes Aulus Elounda

(182 rooms)

– In Corfu, the 5-star Dreams Corfu Resort & Spa (337 rooms) and the 5-star Domes of Corfu (236

rooms)

– In Zakynthos, the 5-star Domes Aulus Zante (197 rooms) and the 4-star AluaSoul Zakynthos (156

rooms)

– In Halkidiki, the 4-star Domes Noruz Kassandra (182 rooms)

It is noted that in 2022 GIC became the largest shareholder in the Sani / Ikos Group in a transaction

that valued international group of Greek origin at € 2.3 billion.