First Sponsor to buy German hotel for $75.7m

The 340-room hotel houses more than 1,800 sqm of meeting and event space.

First Sponsor’s German subsidiaries has entered a sale and purchase agreement for the proposed acquisition of 94.9% of two German firms Rock Lux Opco S.à r.l. (Opco) and Rock-Lux S.à r.l. (Propco), which own and operate the Westin Bellevue Dresden hotel in Germany, for approximately $75.7m (EUR49.5m).

The proposed acquisition will be made in collaboration with hotel operator Event Hotels Group, which is also the Group’s joint venture partner for the Bilderberg portfolio in the Netherlands acquired in August 2017. Event holds 5.1% stake in each of the German companies since May 2016.

The 340-bedroom Westin Bellevue Dresden hotel is a freehold property that is located between the old and new towns of Dresden, Germany. The hotel houses more than 1,800 sqm of meeting and event space equipped with modern meeting facilities. Additionally, the hotel reportedly has an average occupancy of 69.1% with an average room rate of approximately $151.6 in FY18.

The Group and Event are expected to spend more than $15.33m (EUR10m) in the near future to refurbish the property.

“The acquisition offers a good opportunity for the Group to invest in Dresden’s hospitality real estate market and thereby further expand the recurrent income base of the Group’s property holding business segment,” First Sponsor highlighted. “The acquisition would also help to diversify the Group’s geographic exposure.”