Maven Capital Partners has added a fourth hotel to its portfolio, following the opening of its latest development in Glasgow. The company has also completed the sale of a student accommodation development in the city.
The ibis Styles boutique hotel in the Merchant City district, opened after the £7m redevelopment of a former office building, has 101 bedrooms along with a guest restaurant and bar.
The firm’s latest addition follows the 100-bedroom £13.75m boutique hotel Indigo project currently being developed in central Cardiff, which will have a rooftop Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill. Maven has also invested in Glasgow’s Indigo Hotel, which opened four years ago, and the recently renovated 82-bedroom Travelodge in Llandudno.
Commenting on the ibis Styles deal, Maven’s investment director, Ramsay Duff, said: “This is a really attractive location in one of the UK’s strongest performing hotel markets, ideally positioned just off the vibrant George Square area of Glasgow, and able to cater to the considerable business, tourism and leisure trade Glasgow enjoys.
“We are delighted to have been able to identify, structure and complete another high quality investment for our investors within our growing hotel and general property portfolio.”
The ibis Styles brand — part of the international Accor Hotels group — is traditionally themed around the host city of each individual hotel. “The contemporary design at the Glasgow ibis Styles is inspired by the city’s unique personality, history and culture,” Duff added. “It blends creative flair with a touch of humour throughout, with tributes to the Duke of Wellington’s iconic cone hat and Billy Connolly’s banana boots.”
The new hotel is already achieving high occupancy rates and is fully booked for two nights in its opening week, with significant demand reported for the months ahead.
In a separate statement, Maven confirmed it has sold its purpose-built student accommodation development at 333 Bath Street in central Glasgow to Empiric Student Property for £7.45m
Maven, which has six offices across the UK, acquired the vacant office property and worked with development partner Calmont Property Group to transform the building into 70 studio apartments over six floors.
“The sale of this development has generated good returns for Maven investors, just nine months after the original investment,” explained Duff. “It demonstrates the potential for the student accommodation sector to provide attractive investor returns on the back of continued strong demand from both occupiers and institutional purchasers, particularly in areas such as Glasgow that are under-supplied with such accommodation.”
The Bath Street sale is his company’s second Glasgow student accommodation deal of the year. In the spring Maven sold Claremont House, in the Kelvingrove area of the city, to a specialist European property fund for £8.37m.
