The hotel real estate transaction volume totalled around €515m in the first quarter of 2021. Compared to the previous year, this corresponds to a decline of around 50% (Q1 2020: €1bn). Portfolio deals accounted for just under 40% of the total volume.
The majority of investors were German, contribution around 80% of total transaction volume. Institutional investors represented the leading investor class at 49%, followed by private investors / family offices (28%), real estate companies (19%) and hotel operators (5%). The average individual transaction size was 29 million euros.
The largest transactions in the first quarter of 2021 included:
- The sale of Villa Kennedy to Conren Land for approximately 95 million euros. The seller, DIC Asset, had acquired the property in 2015 for around 81 million euros. The 163-room hotel is managed, under an operating lease, by the Rocco Forte Group.
- The sale of two Leonardo properties (Leonardo Munich City West & Leonardo Residence Munich) with a total of 368 rooms in Munich on the basis of a sale and leaseback transaction with the Fattal Group. Both properties will be renovated for approximately 4 million euros and leased by the Leonardo Group for 25 years.
- The sale of three Marriott Hotels in Bochum and Gelsenkirchen to the Düsseldorf-based family office Anter Group. The buyer plans to reposition the operator-free hotels under the "Stays Design Hotel" brand.
- The purchase of a 230-room Motel One as part of the "Urban Soul" district development at Bonn's main railway station by Ampega Real Estate or for a special fund affiliated with HDI Germany. The seller was the project developer “die developer” (“the developer”). The project includes retail space "Lifestyle House", ten flats, gastronomy and an office building "City Office", with multi-storey car park.
"Despite the pandemic and the ongoing restrictions, investment volume in the first quarter was better than expected. Especially in combination with other asset classes or as part of mixed-use properties, hotels continued to be a popular addition. Furthermore, activity was relatively restrained and investments in hotels were only made very selectively and sporadically. In addition, an increasing polarisation in market activity became apparent or an increased interest in both ends of the investment spectrum - absolute core deals and opportunistic transactions," commented Stefan Giesemann, Head of Hospitality Germany & Austria at Cushman & Wakefield.
Giesemann continues: "A forecast for the coming months is difficult to make due to the current uncertainties. Products available for purchase remain scarce in the market and classic marketing processes make little sense due to the limited number of active investors. It is therefore very likely that off-market transactions will continue. Moreover, many of the financially strong owners are not willing or not forced to sell their hotel properties at a discount at the current time. Government assistance is also starting to show its effect and some operators have been able to significantly improve their liquidity situation. A large wave of insolvencies or an increase in distressed sales thus remains rather unlikely in the coming months."
