ActivumSG, working with Global Hospitality Investment Group, announces first UK hospitality-focused acquisition with purchase of hotel-led asset in Greater London

• ActivumSG Fund VII, working with Global Hospitality Investment Group, has purchased Sutton Point, a mixed-use, hospitality-led asset in Greater London
• The site was acquired at a significant discount to replacement cost, with subsequent disposals of the non-hospitality elements in back-to-back transactions
• Purchase represents ActivumSG’s first-ever hospitality-focused direct real estate play in the UK

 

(London) 05 November 2024: Leading Pan-European real estate private equity investment manager ActivumSG, on behalf of ActivumSG Fund VII, working with Global Hospitality Investment Group, today announced the acquisition of Sutton Point, a hotel-led mixed-use asset in Greater London, for £21 million.

The transaction underscores ActivumSG’s belief that, despite stabilizing interest rates and easing inflation, there remain substantial opportunities for sophisticated investors to capitalize on the past two years of market dislocation. With capital ready to deploy, ActivumSG is well-positioned to take advantage of these strategic investment prospects.

Upon closing, the non-hospitality elements (residential, retail and freehold interest) of the scheme were successfully sold in multiple back-to-back disposals. This significantly de-risked the transaction and allowed for the retention of the two hotels (a 99-key Ibis hotel and a 59-key Adagio aparthotel), where ActivumSG will leverage its extensive expertise investing in hotels and hotel operators to enhance their value. The retained hospitality assets were financed with an attractively priced senior loan provided by Leumi UK, led by Leumi’s Relationship Director Steve Crosswell.

Sutton Point is located adjacent to Sutton train station, which provides access to central London in under 30 minutes via the Thameslink and Southern railway lines. The hotels benefit from Sutton being a frequent stopover location for London travel and receives significant demand from various local businesses, students and leisure groups.

The site was originally developed in 2019/2020, with a third party forward purchasing the build-to-rent residential components of the wider scheme. The asset is labelled BREEAM Excellent, and the Adagio and Ibis hotels benefit from EPC ‘A’ and EPC ‘B’ ratings, respectively.

James de Lusignan, UK Managing Director, ActivumSG, said: “Sutton Point represented a unique opportunity to acquire a recently developed, high-quality asset at significantly below replacement cost. The complexity of this transaction would have dissuaded many other buyers, but we identified significant unlocked potential through our collective skillset and local, in-country presence.”

Saul Goldstein, Founder and CEO, ActivumSG, said: “We kept our capital dry in anticipation that the market would soon present compelling opportunities where you could acquire fundamentally sound assets at attractive prices. This is one of them. The hotel-led aspect of the site was a big draw for us, as the hospitality sector has been one of our long-held conviction calls in Europe and we are actively investigating a number of similar opportunities in the UK, which remains a core market for us.”

James Gibbs, Managing Director and Head of Europe, Global Hospitality Investment Group, said: “Sutton Point exemplifies our ability to collaborate with a market-leading private equity firm to source and execute on highly complex hospitality-led investments and is a prime example of a great asset with an impaired balance sheet. Immediate value was created through the back-to-back sales on the non-hospitality component whilst there remains significant additional upside to unlock via optimizing hotel operations.”

ActivumSG’s other notable recent hospitality-focused investments have included:

• The Odyssey Hotel Group, which operates a hotel portfolio of over 3,700 keys across Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Sweden and Finland
• The Hampton by Hilton Fira Gran Via Hotel in Barcelona, a ground-up development strategically located near a major business destination and sold in February 2024
• The Hard Rock Hotel Madrid, re-positioned from a former municipal office building near one of the city’s main train stations and sold in 2022 for €65 million
• Palacio Solecio, formerly a 230-year-old Andalusian palace in Málaga which was transformed into a luxury boutique hotel and sold for €51 million in April 2024
• The Nobu Hotel Barcelona, acquired in 2021 and has since been revamped to include Barcelona’s highest rooftop pool and bar
• The SLS Barcelona, a 471-room luxury hotel being developed on the last available seafront plot in the city.

 

-ENDS-

About ActivumSG | www.activumsg.com

ActivumSG is one of Europe’s largest independent real estate investment managers, with a proven track record of value-add and opportunistic strategies. With professionals in Germany, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, ActivumSG executes a multi-sector specialist investment strategy, investing across the capital stack via direct real estate, corporate platforms and special situations.

Founded by ex-Cerberus private equity real estate veteran Saul Goldstein, ActivumSG has raised close to €3 billion in discretionary capital. Including affiliated entities and its advised funds’ portfolio companies, the ActivumSG ecosystem directly and indirectly advises on over €14bn in real estate and real estate-related investments.

For media enquiries email: activumsg@montfort.london

About Global Hospitality Investment Group | www.ghigroup.com

Global Hospitality Investment Group (GHIG) is a hospitality-focused real estate private equity firm, led and founded by Kevin Colket, with offices in Los Angeles, New York, and London.

GHIG currently has approximately $300m of assets under management and its executives have invested over $5 billion of capital across the US, Europe, and Asia, consistently delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns. Across the US and Europe, GHIG executes an opportunistic and value-add investment strategy targeting single assets, portfolios, and corporate opportunities throughout the capital structure.  

For media enquiries email: media@ghigroup.com