LRC Group Buys Amaris, Adds Seven Hotels to Portfolio
Date: July 2018
Location/Name:
- DoubleTree by Hilton Bristol North
- DoubleTree by Hilton Strathclyde
- DoubleTree by Hilton Southampton
- DoubleTree by Hilton Dartford Bridge
- DoubleTree by Hilton Newbury North
- DoubleTree by Hilton Coventry
- DoubleTree by Hilton Edinburgh Airport
DoubleTree by Hilton Strathclyde
No. of Keys: 1000
Seller: Oaktree Capital Management
Buyer: LRC Group, the fast-growing pan-European property investor and manager, today announced it has acquired Amaris Hospitality and has agreed to add seven Hilton-branded hotels from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”) to the Amaris Hospitality portfolio for an undisclosed consideration.
The transaction for the seven hotels, which all trade under the DoubleTree by Hilton brand, is expected to close later this year.
Amaris Hospitality will become LRC’s new hotel investment and management platform and will manage the new hotels on behalf of LRC, bringing the total number of hotels in the Amaris Hospitality portfolio to 30.
The addition of the new hotels forms part of LRC’s plan to accelerate the growth of its hotel investments and through Amaris Hospitality create a high performing, long-term investment portfolio of over 50 high-quality, internationally-branded hotel assets.
The LRC Group, headed up by Yehuda Barashi, is a privately held investment and management firm operating from affiliated offices in London, Berlin, Amsterdam and Larnaca
LRC’s principals have been active in the European real estate markets since 1995 and bring a combined experience of over 125 years in the international property and finance markets to the table.
They have sourced and acquired real estate assets with a total value approaching €5.3bn across Europe.
The seven Hilton-branded hotels comprise over 1,000 contemporary rooms and extensive conferencing facilities and employ approximately 900 people.
They will add to Amaris Hospitality’s existing 23 hotels which trade under the Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, DoubleTree by Hilton, Mercure and Ibis Styles brands, which between them have 3,800 rooms and employ 1,800 people.
Peter Stack has been appointed Managing Director of Amaris Hospitality, having previously been Managing Director of Asset Management with the Group. Other key members of the new Amaris Hospitality leadership team include Stephanie Gosling, who has been appointed Commercial Director; David Webster, Senior Operations Director, and Kirstine Rowland, Head of Human Resources.
John Brennan, the outgoing CEO of Amaris Hospitality, has been appointed non-executive Chairman of Amaris Hospitality by LRC and will act as a strategic advisor to LRC on all hospitality investments.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Peter Stack, Managing Director of Amaris Hospitality, said:
“We are very excited about working with our new owners LRC Group and as the addition of these seven hotels demonstrates together we have ambitious growth plans for the business. Our strategy will continue to focus on developing and growing our employees, achieving operational excellence and creating a high performing hotel portfolio with a view to delivering long-term, sustainable returns for investors.
Key to our strategy will be acquiring and investing in established hotels trading under acclaimed international brands in key strategic locations and we’re delighted to have added seven more DoubleTree by Hilton hotels to our portfolio.”
John Brennan, the new Chairman of Amaris Hospitality, said:
“I am really looking forward to taking up this role on behalf of LRC and to working with the investors and the Board in supporting Peter and his leadership team as they pursue their ambitious plans for the business.”
Speaking on behalf of LRC, Chris Dimitriadis, said:
“We are delighted to welcome Amaris Hospitality into the LRC Group and look forward to working with Peter Stack and his very experienced team who have a proven track record of delivering exceptional results.
We are especially pleased that John Brennan has agreed to become Chairman of the business. John brings a wealth of experience to the new role and he will be assisting us with our ambitious plan to significantly grow our presence in the hospitality sector, especially in the UK and Ireland.
The addition of the seven DoubleTree by Hilton hotels to the Amaris Hospitality portfolio puts great momentum behind this plan.”
THPT: Hopefully this now stabilses the round-the-houses scenario that has existed for the past few years. Wise move to keep John Brennan on side as Chairman.
Firs Seen: Hotel News Now