AXA-led investment club agrees to €133m Euro hotel deal

AXA Real Estate Investment Managers has brokered a club deal to acquire six Accor-operated hotels in Europe — four in Paris and two in Belgium.

A club venture led by AXA Real Estate Investment Managers (REIM) has signed an agreement to acquire a portfolio of six hotels in France and Belgium for €132.9 million, according to an announcement by the real estate arm of French insurance group AXA.

AXA REIM agreed to purchase the Accor-operated hotels on behalf of AXA Group, French fund management firm Caisse des Dépôts and Sogecap, the life insurance company of Societe Generale Group, from French real estate company Foncière des Murs. The deal, which is expected to complete before the end of the year, was sourced off-market and completed using only equity, AXA REIM noted.

The six-strong portfolio, comprising four hotels in Paris, one in Brussels and one in Gent, has a total of 1,569 rooms.Gael Le Lay, head of hotel investment at AXA REIM, said each hotel recently underwent an extensive refurbishment programme, so there is no expectation that the club venture would need to inject additional capital into the assets.According to Le Lay, the rental income of the portfolio comes from turnover-linked leases, which are expected to grow as the hotel sector improves.

“Our strategy is to invest in both business and leisure hotels,” he told PERE, adding that this portfolio purchase followed strong requests from the investors to “buy properties already established in the market.”

As of 31 March, AXA REIM had €39.4 billion in assets under management. Following this acquisition, the hotel component comprised 99 properties across Europe with a value nearing €2 billion.