4 Feb 2019 09:15
Thomas Cook Hotel Investments secures €51m in second round of debt funding
4th February 2019: Thomas Cook today announces that its hotel fund joint venture with LMEY Investments, Thomas Cook Hotel Investments (TCHI), has secured its second round of debt funding with €51 million from CaixaBank, one of the leading banks in Spain.
The funding takes the total amount raised in the last three months by TCHI to €91m, following the initial tranche of €40 million from Piraeus Bank.
The funds will be used to invest in opportunities in Spain and around the Mediterranean. TCHI has also agreed to acquire a 250-room hotel in the Canary Islands, as well as another 300-room hotel in the Balearics. The seven hotels in the fund now take the total asset value to around €250 million and 2,200 rooms.
The fund aims to comprise 10-15 hotels within the next two years. A pipeline of further hotel acquisitions has been identified and the team is focused on executing an expansion plan over the coming year.
TCHI was established in March 2018 to support the growth of Thomas Cook's own-brand hotel portfolio as part of the company's strategy of achieving greater control over its hotel inventory and customer experience. The hotel fund aims to acquire underperforming, distressed and underinvested hotels in Thomas Cook's core destinations and transform them into own-brand hotels.
Enric Noguer, Chief of Thomas Cook Hotels & Resorts said, "This new round of funding is a big step forward for TCHI, providing us with support to accelerate our acquisition programme in our biggest holiday destination. The fund's flagship hotel, Casa Cook Ibiza, opens this summer and with this new funding we'll be able to create further top-class hotels and holidays for our customers."
CaixaBank is one of the leading institutions in Spain for company loans. In 2018, it granted €21bn in loans to companies and has a market share of 15% in this credit segment.
-ENDS-
About Thomas Cook Group Plc.
Thomas Cook Group plc. is one of the world's leading leisure travel groups, with sales of £9.6 billion in the year ended 30 September 2018. It is supported by 21,000 employees and has 200 own-brand hotels. It operates from 16 source markets and serves over 22 million customers annually. Thomas Cook Group plc's shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange (TCG).
Contact Details:
Chris Alfred
Senior Financial Communications Manager
Thomas Cook Group plc
Desk phone: +44 (0)20 7294 7203
Mobile: +44 (0)7901 50211
Chris.alfred@thomascook.com