Meridia partners with B&B HOTELS group

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.