L+R, a London-based Hotel investor and operator, and Dutch pension fund manager PGGM have backed a European value-add hotel venture launched by LRO Hospitality. The new hotel asset management company LRO Hospitality is set up by L+R and John Ozinga, former CEO of Accor Invest.
Its experienced and dedicated team will originate transactions through its extensive network of industry contacts, actively manage hotels, and implement asset management strategies to enhance overall quality and performance to maximize investor returns. The team is led by CEO John Ozinga and CIO Henri Wilmes and will be supported by L+Rs’ asset management team throughout the life cycle of the investments. Focus will be placed on key Western European city markets in France, Germany, Benelux, Spain and Italy.
John Ozinga, founder and CEO of LRO Hospitality said: “Current market conditions will present LRO Hospitality with attractive investment opportunities to acquire from investors or operators facing cash flow challenges. Given the expected short to mid-term post-pandemic recovery, we believe it is the best time for us to launch our first hotel venture.”
Desmond Taljaard, Deputy Chair of L+R, said: “We are pleased to enter into this venture with PGGM as we believe in the resilience of the hotel market and its recovery in the future. The commitment of PGGM shows their confidence in our ability as deal sourcer, hotel operator and asset manager to create value, and their appetite for the European hospitality sector as an institutional asset class, despite the negative short-term impact of the COVID crisis”.
Tinka Kleine, Senior Director Private Real Estate for PGGM, said: “We have added hotels to our city focused investment programme because it offers attractive investment opportunities, both for achieving financial returns and for improving the sustainability performance of well-located assets. The strong track record of L+R and the LRO team in securing and executing such strategy provides a perfect base for a successful partnership.”
About LRO Hospitality
LRO Hospitality targets levered investments aggregating up to €1bn, comprising both Real Estate and Operations, from budget to upscale hotel opportunities in Western Europe which have become stressed, but offer significant recovery value to achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns as the hotel sector returns to market stability toward 2023/2024.
It takes a proactive, operator-driven approach, focusing on investments that offer long-term value creation opportunities for its investors.
About L+R
London and Regional (L+R) is a privately held global investment firm with a £10bn+ wholly owned real estate portfolio, including 115 hotels across 9 countries and a more than 30-year track record of value creation. The firm operates across Hotels, Commercial Real Estate, Private Credit, and Ventures, offering capital partners a vertically integrated platform with unmatched alignment of interest through significant co-investment and flexible capital.
Website: https://www.lrgroup.com/
About PGGM
PGGM is a not-for-profit cooperative pension fund service provider. As a pensions administrator, asset manager and advisor to pension fund boards, it executes its social mandate: to provide for good old-age incomes for 4.4 million participants in the Netherlands. On December 31, 2021 PGGM managed long-term pension capital of EUR 291 billion worldwide. Rooted firmly in the Dutch healthcare sector, PGGM develops innovative provisions for labour market issues in this sector, alone or with strategic partners. Our member organisation PGGM&CO supports 764,000 workers and pensioners with a background in healthcare.
Website : www.pggm.nl