APG and GIC-Backed Hotel Investor Enters Italian Market
Main Photo: The CitizenM motto
Date: May 2020
Location: Rome, Italy with Milan to follow
Name: TBA
No. of Keys: 160 – Rome
Seller: GIC acquired a 25 percent stake in 2019 from APG and KRC Capital.
Buyer: Dutch hotel specialist CitizenM has partnered with Italian asset manager Antirion Sgr to launch a new investment fund focused on Italian hotel properties, specifically located in Rome and Milan.
The company is backed by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Dutch pension fund manager APG.
It has acquired its first asset in Rome, totalling 7,000 square feet spanning up six floors. It is on the Lungotevere, opposite the Tiber Island and the Jewish quarter. The asset will be refurbished and converted into a citizenM hotel with 160 rooms and rated as a four-star establishment. The firms will bring the concept of affordable luxury to the Italian market.
The company – which is backed by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Dutch pension fund manager APG – has hired asset manager Antirion to establish the new alternative investment fund to invest in existing hotels and assets suitable for hotel conversion.
Hotel group citizenM said the fund will target assets in Italy’s major cities, with a specific focus on Rome and Milan.
Klaas van Lookeren Campagne, citizenM’s CEO said: “Italy is a natural fit for the next phase of our global expansion.
”We are therefore very excited to launch this joint venture with Antirion as this gives us immediate access to this competitive market and the execution power to source and develop several high-quality properties in Italy, together with Antirion’s experienced and like-minded team.”
Ofer Arbib, CEO of Antirion, said: “We are proud to support the introduction of citizenM in Italy, a truly disruptive global hotel group that delivers exceptional experiences for hotel guests while achieving materially higher returns on investment than any traditional hotel business.
“This confirms our ongoing commitment to international realities that rely on innovation as a business model. We believe that this investment is now a clear signal of trust for Italy, for the capital and for the tourism industry, as well as a positive sign that drives us towards an optimistic outlook for the near future.”
THPT Comment: Good to see this investment faith in the Italian market.
First Seen: IPE Real Assets
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