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1. MCR acquires £150 million portfolio to kickstart hotel platform
Manchester-based MCR Property Group has acquired a portfolio of four London hotels for £150 million ($202 million), with plans on growing that quartet into a “new operational real-estate hospitality platform focused on income growth, yield optimization and scalable, brand-led expansion.” The hotels are the 38-room Ashburn Hotel, 19-room Ashburn Court, 16-room Claverley Court and 14-room Chesham Court, which will soon be consolidated in an “independent lifestyle collection brand.”
Of that £150 million, £123 million was invested in one asset, the Ashburn Hotel. MCR said refurbishment and renovation are now underway in all the properties, which are located in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
MCR’s Founder Aneel Mussarat said the acquisition is a “deliberate move into operational real estate, in a market where we see clear inefficiencies and significant scope for value creation.” The firm added its strategy is to “scale this platform to £500 million ($672 million) through further acquisitions across London and key United Kingdom markets, where we can apply the same model and deliver consistent, repeatable performance.”
2. China Evergrande founder pleads guilty to embezzlement, bribery
Hui Ka Yan, founder of Chinese hotel developer and owner China Evergrande, has pleaded guilty to, among other charges, “embezzlement of assets and corporate bribery,” according to the BBC.
China Evergrande once had a stock market valuation of more than $50 billion, the BBC reports. The Chinese company had approximately 1,300 projects across hotels and other real estate classes in the works when it collapsed in 2021 following new legislation from the Chinese government that sought to regulate property debt.
As reported in CoStar News Hotels, Country Garden Holdings was another Chinese company with hotel interests that fell foul of the new rules, with a statement from the company in August 2023 pointing to “material uncertainties which may cast significant doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern.”
3. Yotel CEO shares how Hilton deal came together
Last month, Hilton and Yotel signed a franchise agreement to include Yotel in Hilton's Select by Hilton brand. In a video interview with CoStar News Hotels at the International Hospitality Investment Forum EMEA, Yotel CEO Phil Andreopoulos said the deal will help scale Yotel, which has a portfolio of 23 hotels in 10 countries.
“For our shareholders, our owners, our crew, our customers … scaling is good news for everybody. We want to be in more locations. We want to be more present in the market,” Andreopoulos said.
4. Invel secures financing to grow hybrid-hotel chain Fondo Yellow
Milan-based private equity firm Invel Real Estate has agreed a €65 million ($76 million) financing facility with bank UniCredit to help grow Fondo Yellow, a fund focused on hybrid-hotel development with properties managed by Castello SGR. In a news release, Invel said the funds would be used to acquire and develop more than 2,000 beds in “major Italian gateway cities” in the hybrid-hotel brand Yellow Square, a brand that currently operates 1,200 beds in four markets: Athens, Florence, Milan and Rome.
Gabriele Magotti, Invel’s chief investment officer, said Fondo Yellow’s “next phase of growth in Italy … reinforces the broader strategic trajectory of the platform across key Southern European urban markets. Beyond the size of the transaction, it reflects the strength of the joint venture established in 2025 and our shared conviction in the long-term potential of hybrid hospitality as an institutional asset class.”
5. United CEO flies American merger by Trump
In a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby floated the idea of merging United with American Airlines, Reuters reported. The meeting occurred in February, two of Reuters' sources said.
United and American, when including international flights, were the two largest airlines by available capacity in 2025, the article states.
"A combination of two of the largest U.S. network carriers would mark the biggest consolidation move in more than a decade, further tightening a domestic market already dominated by four similarly sized players," Reuters reports.