A fund affiliated with Starwood Capital Group has finalized an acquisition of Principal Hayley Group, a London-based hotel and conference center company, the firms announced Feb. 27.
The Principal Hayley portfolio includes 23 hotels and dedicated conference centers in city centers across the United Kingdom and Europe.
The deal adds to Starwood Capital Group’s current hotel interests. The Greenwich investment firm is led by real estate mogul Barry Sternlicht, who previously founded Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., where he served as CEO from 1995 to 2005. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Starwood currently owns the Louvre Hotel Group, which includes more than 1,100 hotels in 39 countries, and has stakes in the luxury Baccarat Hotel & Resorts brand, the lifestyle eco-brand 1 Hotels & Resorts, and Meridien Hotels, whose venues include the Etoile in Paris and the Eden in Rome.
“This transaction marks an exciting investment in the European hotels and conferences sector and provides a great management platform for us to expand further in Europe,” said Barry Sternlicht, Starwood president and CEO, in a statement. “Principal Hayley’s assets include historic and iconic properties strategically located in many key city centre locations.”
Citigroup arranged and underwrote the senior debt facility to support Starwood’s acquisition. Goldman Sachs acted as financial adviser to Principal Hayley Group and Lloyds Banking Group.
