GFH Capital acquires diversified US hospitality portfolio worth $250m
GFH Capital, the Dubai-based subsidiary of the GFH Financial Group, has acquired a diversified US hospitality portfolio worth $250 million, in partnership with Arbor Lodging Partners (Arbor).
In a statement, GFH Capital said that the transaction has been undertaken in a joint venture with Arbor, a specialised hospitality asset manager with a strong track record of investing in and managing hospitality assets. Arbor currently has 12 branded select service hotels, located in California, Connecticut and New Jersey.
These hotels each fall under either a Hilton brand hotel (Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn, and Homewood Suites), or a Marriott Brand hotel (Courtyard, Residence Inn and Springhall Suites).
The portfolio benefits from a number of key considerations, including the defensive nature of the select-service segment, the statement from GFH Capital said, adding that Arbor will hold a 9% stake in the portfolio and act as asset manager.
It pointed out that the portfolio has out-performed comp set and other hotel segments over multiple economic cycles.
Furthermore, GFH and Arbor will undertake a property improvement programme, in line with brand standards, so as to create value by increasing revenue generation during the investment period.
On the deal, GFH Capital CEO Hisham Alrayes said: “We’re delighted to close another significant investment in the US markets, which continues to perform strongly and in this robust segment of the hospitality sector.”
“The portfolio is well diversified with assets located in key submarkets of the country that are showing growth and overall positive dynamics. It also benefits from best in class branding with the Hilton and Marriott franchise affiliations making them well known to target audiences and a part of industry-leading guest loyalty programmes driving traffic,” stated Alrayes.
According to him, the hotels are also well managed and have strong reputations.
“We look forward to working with our partner Arbor to add further value to these assets and expect stronger income and returns for our investors,” he stated.
“We’re pleased to bring what is yet another unique investment opportunity to the market and to continue enabling our investors to make the most of strong performance in solid defensive sectors in the US economy,” he added.
