In February, Warimpex announced the sale of a portfolio of eight hotels to the Thai investor U City. On 31 May, the transaction was successfully closed. Warimpex has taken advantage of this positive momentum on the CEE hotel investment market with this portfolio deal and is set to strengthen its capital structure and to position itself for new development projects.
The transaction includes eight hotels – two of which are 50 per cent owned by UBM Development AG (UBM) – that comprise around half of Warimpex's total gross real estate asset value, amounting to approximately €180 million (excluding the stakes of UBM in that portfolio). This amount also corresponds to the overall financial consideration, consisting of a share purchase price for the shares, the respective shareholder loans, and the related bank loans. The purchase price is in line with the recent valuation opinions by independent property appraisers.
Warimpex expects a positive earnings contribution in 2017 of roughly €25 million from the transaction. The sale will increase the equity ratio of Warimpex to about 25 per cent.
The hotel portfolio that was sold includes the following hotels:
Czech Republic
Vienna House Diplomat Prague
angelo by Vienna House Pilsen (50 per cent share)
Poland
andel’s by Vienna House Łódź
andel’s by Vienna House Krakow (operating company)
Vienna House Easy Chopin Krakow
angelo by Vienna House Katowice (50 per cent share)
Vienna House Amber Baltic Międzyzdroje
Romania
angelo by Vienna House Bucharest
All of the hotels are operated by Vienna House, which will continue to be responsible for the management after the sale.
“We are well prepared for new projects and are confident that we will present new hotel and office developments by 2018”, ,” commented Warimpex CEO Franz Jurkowitsch.
Warimpex continues to see its future in hotel and office developments in CEE and Russia, as the markets have matured and are developing further. Poland will remain one of Warimpex’s core markets with development projects in Łódź and Krakow, and Warimpex is currently weighing several options for further investments in the country.
The buyer U City, which is entering continental Europe for the first time, remains a potential future partner for Warimpex developments – along with Vienna House, which will continue to manage three hotels for Warimpex.
Warimpex was advised during the transaction by Credit Suisse as investment bank and by Taylor Wessing as legal adviser.
Two more brands have joined the ranks of tenants at Galeria Copernicus in Toruń: Żabka (60 sqm) and the pet shop Aquael ZOO (170 sqm).
The company PKB Inwest Budowa has announced that the retail chain Lidl Polska will be a tenant of the newly developed Retail Park in Garwolin. The investment will include the construction of 3 buildings with a total area of 11,045 sqm. GLA. One of
of them with an area of over 2,100 sqm will be occupied by a Lidl Polska shop.
Peek & Cloppenburg has chosen the Szczecin Galaxy shopping centre to make its debut in West Pomerania in Poland. The brand's only shop in this part of the country will be almost two thousand square metres in size.
New appointments
Angelika Majkowska has taken up the position of HR director at Apsys Poland. Angelika, who has been with the company since 2013, will be responsible for complex HR policies in an organisation with a structure involving more than 19 teams in various locations.
Filip Krstičević is joining iO Partners in Zagreb as Regional Manager, focusing on leasing and land deals across the region. With a strong track record of acquiring land sites and developing residential and commercial properties in both Croatia and Australia, Filip is well placed to support international investors entering the Croatian market.
The Management Board of Globe Trade Centre S.A. has announced that on 18th of March, 2024 the company accepted Barbara Sikora's decision to resign from the company's authorities.
Office leasing in regional cities reached 37,441 sqm during 2023, equivalent to 18% of the space leased on the Bucharest market in the same period, according to a Fortrim Trusted Advisors report.
Peakside Capital Advisors has achieved two BREEAM IN-USE certifications at the "Very Good" level for over 50,000 square meters of warehouse-office space at Logistics Point Raszyn and Logistics Point Piaseczno. The attained rating results from the successful modernization of fully commercialized logistic centres near Warsaw.
Panattoni has acquired financing for the development of its latest development in Western Pomerania. The €20 million loan was granted by mBank. Panattoni Park Szczecin V will comprise 30,000 sqm of which around a third has already been leased to a client from the food and hospitality sector.
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