Meridia and B&B Hotels partner to launch a scalable program in Spain

B&B HOTELS, a hotel group specialised in providing cozy, functional, and design-oriented accommodation respectful to people and the environment, has partnered with Meridia to develop a platform of budget hotels with high ESG standards in Spain.

With a planned investment of 200 million euros, Meridia will acquire land in the outskirts of major cities in Spain to build 100 to 200 room hotels, which will be leased to B&B HOTELS on a fixed contract basis. Meridia will develop this strategy in collaboration with Lexxa Hotels, which will assist in identifying opportunities, executing development work, securing financing, and managing the exit.

B&B HOTELS is accelerating its expansion in Iberia, where it already operates 45 hotels in Spain and 11 in Portugal, offering over 5,000 rooms. Meridia will become a key financial partner, supporting the expansion through its scalable program. The hotels will be developed and operated according to the highest sustainability standards and will always be certified with internationally recognised credentials, such as LEED or BREEAM.

Through its fund Meridia IV, Meridia has already made the initial investments for this program, acquiring four plots of land: one in Vallecas (Madrid), two in Seville, and one in Vilaseca (Tarragona). The four properties to be developed will have a total of over 500 rooms and are expected to be operational from 2024. Meridia continues to analyse similar operations in locations with high demand for this type of product and expects to materialise them in the coming months.

Héctor Serrat, Real Estate Partner at Meridia, commented: "Meridia continues to strengthen its commitment to the hotel sector through professionalised scalable platforms, where operational management is crucial. The sector's resilience, the growth potential of the platform, and the proven liquidity for this type of product make this project a great opportunity. We are proud to have partnered with B&B HOTELS and Lexxa, leading companies in their respective fields, to develop this project."

Lucía Méndez-Bonito, CEO of B&B HOTELS Spain & Portugal, stated: "We are very excited about this partnership with Meridia. B&B HOTELS is growing rapidly in Spain & Portugal. We closed 2022 with 52 hotels in Iberia, and our forecast is to reach over 60 in 2023. We are convinced that this alliance with Meridia will be key to maintaining a robust pipeline and increasing our number of hotels at an even faster pace. This, combined with the growth we experienced at the end of 2022, with total revenue exceeding 50% compared to 2019, is a clear indication of the strength and good standing of B&B HOTELS in Iberia."

This operation has been advised by law firm Garrigues.

About B&B Hotels

B&B Hotels is one of Europe's largest economy hotel groups. Founded in Brest in 1990, the Group has a network of nearly 700 hotels in 16 countries across Europe and Brazil. B&B Hotels experienced exponential growth in 2022 with the opening of 97 new hotels and aims to continue this trend in 2023.

Positioned in the "Value for Money" segment, B&B Hotels strives to offer its customers comfort and quality with the best value for money. Empathy, smart simplicity, excellence, integrity, inclusion, and continuity are the foundational values of the Group.

B&B Hotels is actively committed to Corporate Social Responsibility. To meet consumer expectations and provide credibility and transparency to its actions aimed at making a positive social and environmental impact, B&B Hotels is now certified by the independent organization SOCOTEC.

Fabrice Collet has been the President and CEO of B&B Hotels since 2016. Goldman Sachs has been the majority shareholder since 2019. For more information, visit bbhotels.com.

About Meridia

Meridia is a leading alternative investment manager in Spain with over 1 billion euros in assets under management.

Throughout its more than 16-year history and through its various vehicles, Meridia has generated transformational value for its investors, including some of the most relevant institutional groups globally.

Through several vehicles, Meridia focuses on the real estate industry. The manager's activities also extend to other areas such as private equity and venture capital.