Since 2014, the Azora Group has been the second largest investment manager in the leisure hotel sector in Europe through the establishment and management of the listed REIT Hispania Activos Inmobiliarios, a vehicle that invested more than € 1,300 million from 2014 to 2018 in the acquisition of a total of 46 hotels (c. 13,000 rooms), leading to net returns for investors of approximately 20% per annum.

The investment strategy in this vertical includes intense supervision of the hotels' operational management, improvement and repositioning actions that generate attractive returns for our investors.

The Azora Group considers that the European hotel sector and, in particular, the leisure hotel segment, with its high growth and fragmented ownership structure, continues to offer numerous investment opportunities for the generation of value through active management. Likewise, the Azora Group is focused on the development and acquisition of new lodging models, such as hostels in major European cities.

Characteristics of the assets under investment:

  • Assets: urban hotels, leisure hotels and hostels.
  • Category: 3 to 5 stars.
  • Locations: main European cities and main holiday destinations in the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of the European Mediterranean coast.

In November 2019, Azora Gestión, S.G.I.I.C., S.A. registered with the CNMV the Prospectus for the Azora European Hotel & Lodging, F.C.R. (“AEHL”), a vehicle regulated by the CNMV, managed by Azora Gestion, S.G.I.I.C. and with capital mainly from third parties. As of December 2020, AEHL had received investment commitments amounting to €680 million (including commitments from Azora Group entities).

AEHL aims to create a scalable investment platform within the European hotel and tourist accommodation market, by investing in European companies dedicated to this activity and which are either undercapitalized or not adequately managed and which provide potential tactical repositioning possibilities in order to achieve superior returns.

In particular, AEHL focuses on two broad categories encompassing (i) "Sun and Beach" tourist hotels in Europe and (ii) tourist hotels in strategic European cities and other secondary but consolidated tourist destinations in Europe.