Hines acquires Athens Ledra Hotel
One year after its closure, the Athens Ledra Hotel is passing into the hands of Sygrou 115 Hotel SA, a company controlled by US property investment firm Hines, for just over 33 million euros.
Following the departure of operating company Marriott Hotels, which had managed the unit for decades, the hotel on Syngrou Avenue shut down last year due to owner Asty SA’s financial problems.
Successive auctions were held by its creditor, Alpha Bank, but it wasn’t until the latest on Wednesday that finally a bid was made that cleared the 33-million-euro threshold set by the lender, which was lower than in the previous auctions.
Sygrou 115 Hotel SA offered 33.05 million and acquired the 4,304-square meter, 616 bed unit. It includes two functions halls, the “Ball Room,” which can host 500 people, and the smaller “Aigaio” for up to 400 people.
On the day the property was repossessed, its value was estimated at 52 million euros, while the first bid at the first auction was set at 47.81 million. However, the first auction was postponed on July 13, 2016 due to unrest at the courthouse. It eventually took place on September 21 without any investment interest. The second auction on December 7 et with the same result, forcing Alpha to reduce its asking price to 38 million euros.
The third auction, originally scheduled for March 15, was put off as the process terms were violated, and finally took place on April 5, but was again barren. A new rdrop in the asking price was demanded and at the fourth time of asking an investor finally came forth.
Sygrou 115 Hotel SA has a share capital of 10 million euros and is based on Voukourestiou Street in central Athens. It was set up just 10 days ago (on June 6), aiming to acquire, construct, lease out, operate and sell all kinds of tourism and hotel enterprises. Its chairman and chief executive is Paul Gomopoulos, who is also head of Hines Greece.
