Qatari Investors Scoop up Landmark Hotels in Paris
Date: May 2015
Location: Paris, France
Name: Concorde Luxury Hotels Portfolio, including the luxurious Hôtel du Louvre and Concorde Lafayette Hotel in Paris,
The historic Hôtel du Louvre is in the heart of the 1st arrondissement, steps from the Louvre and the Jardin des Tuileries.
By contrast, the Concorde Lafayette – to be renamed the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile (four star) is a modern tower on the western edge of the 17th arrondissement, with stunning Eiffel tower views, and undergoing a total refurb in November 2017.
The Concorde portfolio also included the famed Hotel Martinez in Cannes and Palais de la Méditerranée in Nice. Hyatt will assume management of all four hotels, a total of 1,724 rooms.
No. of Keys: 1,724
Seller: Groupe du Louvre, a subsidiary of Starwood Capital. Starwood acquired the hotels as part of its takeover of Taittinger, in 2005. The company had been looking for a buyer for the past several years. They were advised by JLL. Groupe du Louvre still owns the historic Baccarat crystal company, with plans to open the first Baccarat store in Manhattan this year, and Baccarat hotels and residences in 2014.
Buyer: Constellation Hotels France, the Qatari investor with global hotel holdings, and who went on the acquire the Maybourne Hotels in London in 2015.
Price: Rumoured to be between €700 and €750 million
Price per Key: around €420,534
THPT Comment: Constellation and other Qatari interests are firmly in the luxury hotel business in London, Paris and Cannes. Besides the hotels mentioned here, they are 95% owners of The Shard in London, including the fab 202 room Shangri-La hotel
First Seen: Paris Property Group