As Maspalomas24H announced last July, Blackstone was warming up the beds in the south of Gran Canaria to package the sale. Thus, the beds of the former IFA Hotels, the businesses that were saved from Grupo Dunas and the Barceló Margaritas since November 1 have a new owner: the government of Singapore. In Las Palmas the official press does not mention what real properties Blackstone has because the mediators pretend to be owners of the businesses when in reality they are pieces on a financial chess board that surpasses them. What happens is that in the tourism sector they do not like suppliers and employees to know who owns the real ownership of the complexes in which they work.
Thus, Blackstone sells its 35% stake in the Gran Canaria financial hotel network to GIC. Does this mean that the employees of the hotels in the south of the island of Gran Canaria are now officials of Singapore? Not at all, it is a financial operation. GIC is one of the owners of Opcsa, the port terminal of Las Palmas. "They have not said that they are not leaving but that it is to create more capital strength," a property manager in Playa del Inglés told Maspalomas24H. Lopesan found out the news this Tuesday at noon although it does not affect her because she is the manager of the old IFA.
North American fund Blackstone Group is selling off a stake in Hotel Investment Partners to Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, in a move that will provide capital for the business to expand at a time when borrowing costs are soaring. The decision to raise more capital comes as borrowing costs have risen for real estate investors in a higher interest rate environment.
James Seppala, head of European real estate at Blackstone, said from London on Tuesday the uncertain economic outlook meant it was advisable to reduce leverage levels at Blackstone-owned companies.
The impact of higher interest rates on the cost of financing acquisitions, along with economic uncertainty, has weighed on deals this year and led some regulators to warn about the potential impact on sectors such as real estate. The stake acquisition marks Singapore's latest bet in the European hospitality sector, as investors bet high-end holiday destinations will defy fears of an inflation-driven slump in consumer spending. Blackstone bought HIP in 2017 from Banco Sabadell, two years after it was founded, and has overseen rapid expansion. The company, which buys hotels across southern Europe and renovates them before leasing them to hotel operators, has since increased its portfolio five-fold.
