GledenInvest, a Russian private investment firm, on Monday announced that it has completed the acquisition of the luxury Augustine Hotel in Prague from Raiffeisen Evolution. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
GledenInvest stated that a private investment vehicle is being formed to target value-add hotel investment opportunities in selected destinations across Europe, Asia and Africa. The company founded in 2008 and chaired by Alexander Klyachin has acquired, redeveloped, managed and repositioned over US$2 billion in assets and also owns Azimut Hotels, a mid-market hotel operator with 22 hotels under management.
GledenInvest and its affiliates have already invested in a number of Moscow hotel properties and projects, including the Metropol Hotel, a new Hyatt luxury country hotel resort project, and two luxury hotel projects in the Moscow historic city center.
Now that the hotel is under new ownership, GledenInvest will imminently rebrand the property under a “renowned international hotel operator to be repositioned as one of the top luxury properties in Central and Eastern Europe.”
“The acquisition of the Augustine Hotel, which Erste Group Bank AG helped to underwrite, forges new and lasting relationship with GledenInvest. I am hopeful that this relationship will lead to future collaboration on other projects between the bank and the investor,” noted Alexander Roessler of EGB.
The 101-room Augustine Hotel opened in 2009 following an extensive restoration and refurbishment and occupies seven buildings including a 13th century monastery and brewery that was once home to the friars of Saint Augustine.
In February 2014, developer Waldeck Capital, which had been operating the hotel since removing Rocco Forte Hotels in 2012, sold all of its shares in the hotel to co-investor Raiffeisen Evolution.