There is no need to be afraid: nothing is destabilised, it is a financial business. The last thing an investment fund wants is to leave a business with labour problems and crossed by unions. Blackstone, the North American fund that carried out the great private modernisation of the south of Gran Canaria, generating without waiting for free official aid from the EU promised from Las Palmas and without wasting a minute on employers' associations, being the undisputed leader of the business in the south of Gran Canaria, is packing its bags in accordance with its business model. The business is maintained given that the company that owns the hotels is still in operation but is changing ownership with an IPO that will be announced in 2025.
Blackstone is preparing to sell its hotel empire in the south of Gran Canaria, which owns the former Lopesan hotels that were branded as IFA, now Ábora, the Occidental Margaritas and the former hotels of the Dunas Group, bought in the crazy bankruptcy of Promotafe and which HIP saved from the vultures. The departure of Blackstone, advanced by Maspalomas24H last October, which means that 3.374 rooms will change hands, that is, 6.748 beds, as well as complementary services such as bars, cafes, and shops. The North American fund is the largest hotelier in the south of Gran Canaria.
The presence of the funds has allowed the south of Gran Canaria to modernise the destination with funds from the private sector and prevent families with a stake in the property from accelerating their exit in favour of the financial industry. This has attracted other funds such as Portobello, which, as Maspalomas24H announced this January, is on track to join Meeting Point (Labranda Hotels) and other funds such as Bestinver (Acciona) in the purchase of complexes that have increased in category.
The hotels that will change ownership are: Dunas Maspalomas Resort + Suites & Villas: 511 rooms; Abora Catarina: 410 rooms; Abora Continental: 404 rooms; Abora Interclub: 395 rooms; Barceló Margaritas: 491 rooms; Corallium Beach: 210 rooms; Corallium Dunamar: 273 rooms; Dunas Don Gregory: 243 rooms and Dunas Mirador Maspalomas: 437 rooms.
The investment giant has launched a process to offload Hotel Investment Partners (HIP), its hotel arm in the south of Gran Canaria, valued at 6.500 billion euros. After investing heavily in the renovation of its establishments, Blackstone is now looking to capitalise on the boom in tourism in Spain and other southern European destinations. The company is considering two main options: an IPO or the direct sale of its majority stake.
Blackstone's decision is driven by several factors. On the one hand, the investment made in the modernisation of its hotels has significantly increased their market value. On the other hand, the growing interest of investors in the tourism sector, especially in destinations such as Spain, has generated a solid demand for quality hotel assets. By selling HIP, Blackstone will not only obtain a significant injection of liquidity, but will also be able to reorient its investments towards other sectors or regions.
The divestment of HIP represents one of the largest real estate operations in Spain in recent years. With a portfolio of 71 hotels and more than 22.000 rooms, HIP is a very attractive asset for institutional investors and pension funds. The IPO or direct sale of the company could generate great interest among buyers, which could translate into a higher than expected valuation.
Not all of Lopesan's hotels were transferred to Blackstone. Shortly before the pandemic was declared, Apollo reached an agreement to acquire the IFA Buenaventura and IFA Faro Maspalomas hotels, both owned by the Canary Islands group. The sales contract specified a date for the signing of the operation and another for the final closing. However, between those dates, the pandemic broke out and Apollo chose to withdraw from an operation valued at 93 million euros. Blackstone owns part of Jupama's slot machine business, Holiday World in Maspalomas and is a partner of Lopesan in the Maspalomas Casino license. According to this newspaper, the casino operation is outside the sale of the hotel assets.
