Blackstone to Buy Greek Hotels for $197M

Corfu, Greece. Image courtesy of ARKADIUSZ MARKIEWICZ via Wikimedia Commons

Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe has agreed to buy five hotels in the Greek Islands from the Louis Group for a total of €178.6 million ($197 million). The unit of the private equity giant will acquire two hotel assets in Corfu, two in Zante and one in Crete, comprising a total of 1,464 keys. The news comes after Blackstone raised the largest-ever global real estate fund, closing on Blackstone Real Estate Partners IX at $20.5 billion earlier this month. 

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Louis Group will continue to operate the Greek hotels under the management of HIP, a hospitality firm owned by Blackstone-managed funds. HIP is the third-largest hotel investor in Europe, with a portfolio of 60 properties totaling 17,600 keys. Louis Hotels operates 26 hotels and resorts in Greece and Cyprus, and is part of Louis plc, a Cyprus Stock Exchange-listed hotel and tourism group in the East Mediterranean.

The properties changing hands include Corcyra Beach and Grand Hotel in Corfu, Zante Beach and Plagos Beach in Zante, and Creta Princess in Crete. Blackstone will invest “meaningful” capital through HIP to renovate and reposition the hotels, according to a statement.

Blackstone is also investing in two regional opportunistic funds in Europe and Asia, namely BREP Europe V (€7.9 billion or $8.7 billion) and BREP Asia II ($7.2 billion). As its initial investment, the Blackstone Real Estate Partners IX fund agreed to the $18.7 billion purchase of U.S. logistics assets from GLP alongside other Blackstone vehicles in June.