UK’s Village Hotels group acquired by Blackstone

Private equity company Blackstone Real Estate has acquired the UK-based Village Hotels group from KSL Capital Partners. The value of the deal was not disclosed but the group was reportedly put up for sale at £850 million.

Village operates 33 mid-market hotels across secondary cities and suburban areas in the UK with a total of 4,400 guest rooms. Its properties typically feature co-working spaces, meeting rooms, fitness clubs and restaurants. The group added more than 1,200 guestrooms under KSL’s ownership.

Gary Davis, CEO of Village Hotels, said: “With KSL’s support, we have developed a differentiated brand, offering lodging, food, meeting space and health and wellness, ‘everything under one roof’. Each hotel attracts over 4,000 local members to our health and wellness clubs, quite unique in the hotel world, with high-tech equipment, fitness class facilities and pools with steam room and sauna. A great facility for the business traveller where health and wellness plus work facilities make us best in class. With Blackstone we see great opportunities to expand the number of hotels in the UK and further enhance our existing facilities. An exciting time for us all.”

James Seppala, head of real estate Europe at Blackstone, added: “We are delighted to add Village Hotels, a standout hospitality brand with a unique business model, to our real estate portfolio. We see great potential in lodging and leisure as a sector, especially where we can support strongly positioned businesses that deliver exceptional experiences to their customers. We look forward to partnering with Village Hotels’ seasoned management team and support them as it embarks on its next stage of growth.”

The deal sees Blackstone increase its presence in the UK hospitality market, having acquired Bourne Leisure in 2021 in which it has since invested more than £550 million.