The reconfiguration of the hotel sector in the Canary Islands has added a new element. Private equity fund Portobello Capital has formally consolidated its control over the hotel chain Meeting Point Spain after submitting a change to its management body and appointing a new board of directors to the Las Palmas Commercial Registry. The move is part of the national expansion strategy of the Blue Sea Hotels group, in which Portobello has a stake since 2021, which seeks to lead the three- and four-star vacation segment.
Key corporate changes were recorded on May 26th: Lars Creutzmann, Meeting Point's current sole director, officially stepped down, giving way to a new board of directors. The board is chaired by Francisco Gimena Ramos, who also serves as a director. He is joined by Sebastiá Catalá Santandreu, CEO and founder of Blue Sea Hotels, as well as Georg Christian Abegg, who assumes the role of secretary of the board and also serves as a director.
With these changes, Meeting Point Spain formally falls under the management of Blue Sea Hotels, a Mallorcan company founded in 2010 by Catalá Santandreu himself. The company already operates hotels in key tourist destinations such as Mallorca, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Benidorm, Torremolinos, and the Costa Brava. The majority of these assets (74%) are owned, while the remainder are leased or managed.
The entry of Blue Sea and Portobello into the Canary Islands hotel chain is not a one-off move, but rather part of an ambitious plan to consolidate a highly fragmented market. "Consolidating a chain in the three- and four-star segment with Sebastiá Catalá is a great opportunity," declared Íñigo Sánchez-Asiaín, founding partner of Portobello Capital, years ago when announcing the transaction with Blue Sea.
Portobello Capital is led by the founding partners, headed by Íñigo Sánchez-Asiaín. The asset manager has previously completed investments with its Fund III, which has also resulted in significant transactions such as Vitalia Home, IAN (Carretilla), EYSA, Iberconsa, Trison, Laulagun Bearings, Centauro, Ramón Sabater, and Blue Sea Hotels. Meeting Point, whose activity was originally focused on tour operators and hotels linked to the former FTI Group network, now adapts to Blue Sea's quality standards and its commercial strategy, which is more focused on the direct control of establishments and the creation of value through volume.
The new management is already working on redesigning the Canary Islands hotel offering under the Blue Sea brand, focusing on international clients seeking "value for money" and expanding the portfolio of operated beds. The goal: to become the leading operator in the mid-range holiday tourism segment in Spain. This is another step for Portobello in its hotel offensive, which makes no secret of its desire to grow on the islands, the peninsular coast, and European tourism hotspots.
