Three Major European Transactions, Including €420 Million Hotel Portfolio Acquisition, Close on Same Day

November 19, 2015

London – Paul Hastings LLP, a leading global law firm, has advised on three major transactions which all closed on the same day.

In the first, the firm advised a joint venture between private equity real estate fund managers, UK-based Benson Elliot and US-based Walton Street Capital, in partnership with Algonquin, on the acquisition of a pan-European hotel portfolio comprising of eight prime hotels in seven major cities across five countries, the Prime Europe Hotels, for approximately €420 million. The portfolio was purchased out of Host Hotels & Resorts’ European Joint Venture.

The eight freehold properties total 2,308 rooms in Venice, Paris, Milan, Rome, Warsaw, Nuremberg and Brussels, located adjacent to key demand generators, either in metropolitan city centres, high-growth commercial corridors or leisure destinations. Assembled between 2006 and 2011, the portfolio has a profitable trading profile and strong cashflow.

The portfolio comprises the following assets:

• The Pullman, Paris Bercy
• The Westin Europa and Regina, Venice
• The Westin Palace, Milan
• The Sheraton, Rome
• The Sheraton, Warsaw
• Le Méridien Grand Hotel, Nuremberg
• The Marriot Executive Apartments, Brussels
• Renaissance Hotel, Brussels

The Paul Hastings team was led by London real estate partner David Ryland and senior associate Michael James, and included corporate partner Jan Gernoth in Frankfurt and tax partner Arun Birla, real estate partner Mark Shepherd, and employment partner Suzanne Horne in London. The financing side of the transaction was led by London corporate partner Justin Jowitt and senior associate Sierra Taylor, and the financing team included real estate partner David Lacaze in Paris and corporate partner Edouard Lange in Frankfurt.

David Ryland along with partner Conor Downey and associates Jennie Dorsaint and Shane Mitchell has also acted for the Irish property developers, O’Flynn Group, on joint venture arrangements with BlackRock and Avenue Capital Group, the latter involving a €400 million funding package including senior debt from both Avenue Capital and AIB; as well as on the acquisition of various Irish and UK properties from Blackstone for €142 million.

The firm also acted for Invesco on the sale of a hotel in Hamburg. The deal also involved associated debt restructuring components in Italy and the Netherlands and forms part of wider European disposal programme for Invesco. This deal was led by partners David Ryland and Mark Rajbenbach in London with Jan Gernoth in Frankfurt.

The Paul Hastings Hospitality practice brings together more than 75 lawyers dedicated to the legal and business needs of institutional lenders, capital providers, investment banks, hotel owners and operators and real estate development companies, in the hospitality sector.

At Paul Hastings, our purpose is clear — to help our clients and people navigate new paths to growth. With a strong presence throughout Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the U.S., Paul Hastings is recognized as one of the world’s most innovative global law firms.