Madrid-based real estate investment trust Azora has acquired a 50.1% stake in Greece's Donkey Hotels for an undisclosed price.
As part of the deal, Greek family office Ioannou will continue to own the remaining 49.9% stake in Donkey Hotels. Together, the joint venture of Azora and Ioannou aims to expand the Donkey Hotels portfolio and “establish an institutional quality hospitality platform focused on the Greek market,” according to a news release.
Donkey Hotels' portfolio includes five owned-and-operated hotels across Greece with a total of 834 rooms. It has four hotels in Athens — the 563-room InterContinental Athenæum Athens, which opened in 1982; 79-room New Hotel Athens; 51-room Semiramis, and 22-room Periscope — and the 119-room Noūs Santorini on the island of Santorini. The New Hotel Athens, Semiramis, and Periscope are part of Marriott International’s soft brand Design Hotels.
“As part of the transaction, both parties have agreed to commit new capital to provide Donkey Hotels with funds to execute a strategic growth plan, which includes upgrading the Athenaeum InterContinental Hotel, making further investments to improve the existing portfolio and pursuing transactions from an identified acquisition pipeline,” the news release added.
Christos Ioannou will continue as chairman of the board of Donkey Hotels.
In 2021 Ioannou created Marousi, Athens-based Donkey Hotels from a merger of two in-house hotel groups, Yes! Hotels Group and Athenæum Hotel & Tourism Enterprises SA.
Founded in 2003, Azora manages assets with a value of more than €14.6 billion ($16.9 billion) in Europe and the U.S., including €3.6 billion in hotels. Its hotels portfolio comprises of 60 owned hotels and approximately 14,500 keys in such countries as Belgium, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the U.S.