With the ambition of acquiring and redeveloping hotel assets in the Atlantic coast on behalf of its Épopée Hôtels I fund, launched at the beginning of the year, Épopée Gestion has formed a strategic partnership with the Vicartem group, via its hotel management company Younight Hospitality.
"The aim of this partnership is to establish a lasting relationship between two regional champions, since Épopée Gestion is based in Brest and Vicartem in Rennes," says Arnaud Lehuédé, partner and director of sustainable real estate at Épopée Gestion. "Our regions have enormous potential, with significant hotel needs. That's why we wanted to gain exposure to these buoyant winds in an organized way, with a player with a strong track-record in these markets."
Aiming to build a €200 million hotel portfolio, the Épopée Hotels fund intends to acquire and reposition between ten and fifteen assets over the next three to four years. As part of this partnership, Younight Hospitality is contributing its expertise in hotel management and operations, from acquisition and renovation to day-to-day operational management.
" We'll be able to source investment opportunities, but above all we'll be there to conceive and design hotel products as well as optimize their management and enhance the customer experience," adds Romain Gowhari, founding partner of Younight Hospitality. "This union with Épopée Gestion gives us access to the capital market, so that we can concentrate on our know-how."
The investment strategy of the Épopée Hotels 1 fund involves the wall-and-bottom acquisition of intermediate-sized assets, ranging from around fifty to one hundred keys, with a positioning ranging from 2 to 4 stars. It also involves repositioning them with the ambition of deploying "a made-to-measure hotel business", explains Romain Gowhari, "freeing ourselves from the brands and codes of the chain hotel business to create a product with a conceptual design where everything is thought through to the last detail."
"We feel that this positioning between 2 and 4 stars is optimal, especially as we feel that boutique-hotels are in short supply in the Atlantic Arc," adds Arnaud Lehuédée. "There's a large stock of hotels here, and there are considerable needs, particularly in terms of energy efficiency, and the fund aims to meet them."
For Épopée Gestion, this strategy is also part of a strong CSR ambition, as the company became a socially responsible company last February. "This partnership is anchored in future projects designed to renovate hotels and maintain employment in the region, which is at the heart of our raison d'être," explains Arnaud Lehuédée. The establishments will also aim to obtain the Clef verte label within two years of acquisition.
An initial deal to acquire two assets, the Maisons du Monde Hôtel & Suites in Nantes and La Rochelle, has already been signed. Located in the heart of the city, these 4-star boutique hotels offer 58 and 63 rooms respectively. The hotels were historically owned by the Vicartem group, which will retain a stake in the new platform.
"We will be looking for similar locations for this fund, in established regional tourist conurbations, either because of local economic dynamism or natural attractiveness from tourist sites", concludes Arnaud Lehuédée.