ATHENS – (Realty News Report) – Hines, the Houston-based international real estate firm, together with Henderson Park, a London-based private equity real estate manager, has acquired a portfolio of five hotels on the Greek island of Crete, a leading Mediterranean tourist destination.
The portfolio totals 1,094 rooms across 721,182 square feet and consists of five seafront properties in prominent resort locations across the island:
- Hermes and Coral: two adjacent hotels in the coastal city of Agios Nikolaos, offering 218 and 170 rooms respectively;
- Santa Marina and Apollonia: two seafront hotels in Crete’s capital, Heraklion, with 208 and 336 rooms respectively—locations that benefit from proximity to the island’s main international airport and the world-famous archaeological site of Knossos;
- A 162-room resort and spa hotel located in Sitia, a coastal town on the eastern side of the island.
The Crete acquisition, completed through two separate transactions, marks the joint venture’s second investment in Greek hotels. In 2017 Hines and Henderson Park acquired the former Ledra hotel in Athens and transformed it into the five-star Grand Hyatt, which has become one of the city’s most successful hotels.
All five Crete properties have strong historical occupancy records and present significant medium- and long-term value-creation opportunities through targeted refurbishment, brand repositioning and active asset management.
Crete is Greece’s largest island and its most established resort market. The island’s appeal is supported by a longer-than-average tourist season—typically running from April through October—and excellent accessibility via an extensive ferry network and three airports, including the new Kasteli international airport capable of accommodating a full range of passenger aircraft.
Henderson Park and Hines will apply their combined local and international hotel asset-management experience to these properties, drawing on successful repositioning and enhancement projects completed around the world. Y&T Daskalantonakis Knossian Group, a specialist operator of upscale hotels, will act as the local operating partner responsible for day-to-day management of the Crete hotels.
Nick Weber, Founding Partner of Henderson Park, highlighted the benefit of the partnership’s global expertise in a market where hotel ownership is often fragmented and dominated by local owner-operators. He noted that while the leisure industry has been temporarily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the partners expect recovery and see this transaction as an opportunity to acquire high-quality assets at an attractive entry point. Weber added that Greece’s phased reopening plans support their investment thesis and reinforce confidence in the identified repositioning opportunities to drive longer-term value.
Paul Gomopoulos, Senior Managing Director and country head for Greece at Hines, said that although the global pandemic presents near-term headwinds for the leisure and hospitality sectors, the firm remains confident in the mid- to long-term prospects of the market and intends to continue pursuing further opportunities in Greece.
Financing for the transaction was provided by Piraeus Bank. Hines and Henderson Park were advised by Lambadarios Law Firm.
Henderson Park has invested approximately $10 billion in European real estate, building a diversified portfolio across major gateway and capital cities in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, Ireland, Greece and Poland. The firm manages roughly 15 million square feet across sectors including office, logistics, multifamily, student housing, hotels and retail.
Hines, founded in Houston in 1957 by Gerald D. Hines, operates in more than 200 cities across more than 20 countries and currently has numerous developments underway worldwide.
July 3, 2020 Realty News Report Copyright 2020