Hong Kong-based private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners purchased a 50% equity stake in Hospes Hotel Group, a boutique hotel brand with 10 properties in Spain, including Madrid, Seville, Cordoba and Mallorca.
Gaw made the investment in a joint venture with Spanish investment firm Omega Capital, headed by Spanish investor Alicia Koplowitz. The total asset is valued at €125 million (US$144.6 million). The JV intends to expand the presence of the brand, which combines luxury and local heritage, in European tourist areas and cities in Spain and southern Europe.
Earlier in July, Gaw made another international purchase, agreeing to pay AU$157 million (US$116.1 million) for a mixed-use complex in Melbourne, Australia.
“Entering the Spanish market with one of Spain’s most distinguished entrepreneurs marks an important milestone for Gaw Capital Partners and its hospitality platform, GCP Hospitality, as we look to expand our presence in Europe and tap the abundant opportunities in one of the world’s most popular tourism markets,” Goodwin Gaw, Gaw’s chairman and managing principal, said in a statement. We will further expand the Hospes brand by opening more properties in tourist areas and strategic cities within Spain and Southern Europe.”
Gaw Capital has raised a total of US$10 billion equity since 2005 and has US$18 billion assets under management as of first quarter of 2018, according to Deal Street Asia.