Blackstone has acquired Village Hotels from affiliates of KSL Capital Partners.
News first appeared in May 2023 that KSL was looking to sell up. In February this year, the private equity company began an auction process for the chain which it bought in 2014 from De Vere Group for £485 million, with KSL setting an auction starting price of £800 million.
Village Hotels’ portfolio currently comprises 33 hotels – representing 4,400 keys - across the UK, up from 25 hotels in 2014.
Lazard acted as Blackstone’s lead financial advisor, Santander also acted as Blackstone’s financial advisor and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and DLA Piper served as Blackstone’s legal advisors. Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc acted as KSL’s financial advisor and Dentons served as KSL’s legal advisor.
What they said
James Seppala, head of real estate Europe at Blackstone said: “We are delighted to add Village Hotels, a standout hospitality brand with a unique business model, to our real estate portfolio. We see great potential in lodging and leisure as a sector, especially where we can support strongly positioned businesses that deliver exceptional experiences to their customers. We look forward to partnering with Village Hotels’ seasoned management team and support them as it embarks on its next stage of growth.”
Jens Blomdahl, principal at KSL Capital Partners added: “We are pleased to have partnered with the Village Hotels team to build out a comprehensive hospitality offering and expand their high-quality portfolio — including the addition of more than 1,200 rooms and 45,000 fitness members. We look forward to following Village Hotels’ continued success in this new chapter as part of the Blackstone portfolio.”
Gary Davis, CEO of Village Hotels added: “With KSL’s support, we have developed a differentiated brand, offering lodging, food, meeting space and health and wellness, ‘everything under one roof’. With Blackstone we see great opportunities to expand the number of hotels in the UK and further enhance our existing facilities. An exciting time for us all.”