Lro Hospitality has earmarked € 1 billion, and is focussing Italy, to invest in the acquisition of hospitality assets in the main European destinations: France, Germany, Benelux, Spain and Italy.
The new joint venture with London & Regional Properties (L+R), one of the most important British hotel owners, and the Dutch pension fund Pggm, is called Lro Hospitality. Founded by the former CEO of AccorInvest, John Ozinga, who takes on the same role in the Newco, and Henry Wilmes, Chief Investment Officer, a position he formerly held with the German group A&O Hotels.
John OzingaRenovate and then reposition properties on the market
Lro Hospitality ‘s objective is to acquire properties, renovate them and then reposition them on the market with a value-add investment approach, more or less halfway between purely institutional (core) and more speculative (opportunistic) strategies. According to Ozinga, the hotel sector has gone through a very difficult time due to the pandemic, but now there are opportunities with interesting returns for investors, thanks to the progressive recovery of pre-crisis levels. A process that Ozinga himself estimates could take over a couple of years. Today there seems to be no lack of opportunities on the market, given the cash flow problems that some operators and hotel owners are still facing.
The new properties will all have a minimum of 100 rooms
The idea is to focus mainly on the 30 most important cities in Western Europe, investing in hotels ranging from select service category to upper up-scale. The object of the acquisitions could be both family-run and chain hotels, but all with a minimum of 100 rooms.
