Azora has completed the acquisition of two hostels in Barcelona and Dublin on behalf of its Azora European Hotel and Lodging Fund (“AEHL” or the “Fund”), through a transaction with a fund managed by BlackRock.
The portfolio, which comprises the Jacobs Inn Dublin and the Jacobs Inn Barcelona, is currently operated by Siggis Capital. The assets are sold unencumbered and will be operated by Latroupe, the boutique hostel operator owned by AEHL, which aims to redefine the concept of urban accommodation by combining the comforts and facilities of a large hotel with the atmosphere and vibrancy of a traditional hostel.
Latroupe was created in 2021 and manages a hostel portfolio comprising three assets in Madrid, Bilbao, and Brussels, with a combined 700 beds. This transaction will broaden the platform’s European footprint and add over 550 beds to its portfolio. All assets operated by Latroupe are located in the city centre and combine 4-star hotel service with the vibrancy and social environment typical of a premium hostel. The company plans to continue expanding the portfolio of hostels it operates in other European cities.
Since 2011, Azora has become one of the leading hospitality and leisure investors in Europe, having acquired over 100 hotels and 26,000 hotel keys and invested over €3 billion in the hospitality sector. Azora’s strategy targets high-quality hotels, urban hostels and businesses that may need active management and repositioning, where it partners and works hand in hand with leading operators.
Azora launched its first private equity fund for hospitality, Azora European Hotel & Lodging (AEHL), in 2021, with €815 million in capital. Since then, AEHL has invested into the vacation hotel segment in major European destinations with a value-add strategy based on asset transformation and active management of hotel operations. More recently, the fund has also begun to utilise an alternative hotel strategy for urban tourism aimed at travellers of all ages, through which Azora aims to revolutionize city tourism.
On the transaction, Azora was advised by Pinsent Masons, KPMG and Arcadis and BlackRock was advised by JLL, Colliers, Matheson LLP, CMS and PwC.
