Final close sees Azora hotels fund with €1.8bn to spend

Madrid-based private equity property manager Azora has completed the final close of pan-European hospitality fund, Azora European Hotel & Lodging attracted total commitments of €815 million plus additional co-investment capital, 36% up on the original €600 million target.

With leverage, the fund has total investment capacity of more than €1.8 billion of which €730 million is already committed, including a seed portfolio.

The fund thus owns two hotels in the Algarve region in Portugal for €148 million, acquired through a 20-year sale and management transaction with Minor International; the Arenas Resort Giverola on Spain’s Costa Brava where a €40 million repositioning project is planned; and the five-star Vilalara Thalassa Resort hotel, also in the Algarve.

Because of the strong demand from institutional investors, Azora increased the fund’s €750 million hard cap to €815 million. This enabled new investors to be added, including a major European pension fund, two large insurance companies – one European, the other in the US – and two European family offices.

“This Fund is a continuation of our successful strategy in the hotel sector, which began more than ten years ago,” said Azora founding partner Concha Osácar. “Throughout the pandemic we maintained our long-held conviction on the European leisure hotel and resorts market, which has already allowed us to build a significant high-quality portfolio and to position our fund ahead of competitors,” she said. “For our Fund, the pandemic has created and will continue to create additional opportunities over and above those originally envisaged.”