At PPHE Hotel Group, we create shareholder value through developing, owning and operating hospitality real estate. We currently own or co-own the majority of our portfolio and have a proven track record in generating attractive operating returns and asset value appreciation.
We typically acquire properties which we believe have significant upside potential. We embark on a journey of (re) developing, redesigning and continuously improving the operation, creating significant value along every part of the value chain. This diligent process is managed by our experienced senior management team, consisting of specialists in every relevant discipline. Through refinancing our properties we are able to release capital for new investments, enabling further growth of our Group.
Amsterdam is the most attractive hotel investment destination in Europe, according to Deloitte’s 2018 European Hotel Investment Survey. It comes as no surprise, then that PPHE Hotel Group decided to focus on repositioning perhaps Amsterdam’s most widely known property: Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam.
Originally opened in 1880, Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam was named after the then Queen Victoria and soon became known as ’the’ hotel to be seen in. Hosting some of the world’s most iconic celebrities, including Louis Armstrong and Mata Hari, the glamorous hotel, situated opposite Amsterdam’s Centraal Station and at the centre of the city’s shopping and dining district, became the catwalk venue of choice for many international designers, including Christian Dior and Nina Ricci to name but two.
Having owned and operated the property since 1993, we identified an opportunity to significantly re-create and transform the design and product within Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam to allow the hotel to continue operating in the successful footsteps of previous trading years. Plans were plentiful and construction began with a design brief to complement the hotel’s fashionable history and in line with the progressive stylish interiors of the latest Park Plaza properties in London and Nuremberg, while respecting and retaining the historical architecture and long-standing charm.
Exuding sophistication and elegance, the hotel was relaunched in September 2018, showcasing 298 redesigned guestrooms and meeting rooms. A new bar, VIC’s BAR, and destination restaurant, Carstens, a Dutch brasserie concept by Maik Kuijpers, opened in February 2019.
The opening event in September was a nod to the fashionable history of the hotel and a collaboration with Amsterdam Fashion Week which generated footfall from well-known influencers, multiple glossy media spreads and ongoing international and local media trips.
We are on track to see a 10% return on our original investment of £20 million which we expect to see towards the end of 2019. Guest feedback has been outstanding with a Guest Rating Score (GRSTM) of 88.6% in 2018 – representing a 3.1% increase from 2017 and a 7.8% increase from 2016 when the repositioning programme commenced.
London’s South Bank is an area vibrant with culture, regeneration and business and has something for everyone; whether you are hosting a conference or visiting the world-famous London Eye, London Dungeons or National Theatre. PPHE Hotel Group spotted an opportunity to be one of the first international hotel developers in the area and opened the now internationally recognised Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London in 2010. 2018 has been a further year of growth in the South Bank area for the Group.
South Bank was chosen as the site of the Festival of Britain in 1951. The new millennium saw the arrival of possibly one of London’s most iconic attractions: the London Eye.
Park Plaza London Riverbank first opened its doors on the South Bank in April 2005. Situated on the banks of the River Thames overlooking Tate Britain, it became a firm favourite with tourists, meeting delegates and corporate bookers alike. Its proximity to the Victoria Tube line (Vauxhall Station) and ten-minute walk to Westminster and the surrounding cultural buzz of the South Bank saw it earmarked by us in 2016 for a repositioning project.
Now fully completed, the hotel’s repositioning programme included the creation of an additional seven floors of accommodation, reconfiguration of existing rooms, new meeting rooms, a new location for the award-winning Chino Latino restaurant, a 12th floor Executive Lounge and the addition of a spa with indoor swimming pool.
The South Bank itself continues to grow, with Waterloo Station set to increase by 30 million passengers to 130 million a year over the next five years, plus the redevelopment of Elizabeth House – a nearby 1960s office building – delivering world-class new office space supporting an additional 13,000 jobs.
Continued investment is going into the South Bank’s neighbouring boroughs and vicinities: Vauxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea (where art’otel london battersea power station is in the pipeline) are expected to see additional regeneration with more than 18,000 new homes, 22,000 new jobs, a 1 billion extension to the Northern Tube line, improved social infrastructure and 50 acres of new public space.
In terms of guest feedback, the hotel reached an impressive 89.2% GRSTM in 2018 – representing an increase of 1.6% from 2017 and 6.2% from 2016 when the repositioning programme commenced.
The heart shaped peninsula of Istria in northern Croatia boasts a plentiful number of secluded spots, crystal blue sea and an abundance of sporting facilities for both professionals and tourists. Arena Hospitality Group (‘Arena’), in which PPHE Hotel Group has a controlling ownership interest, recognised an opportunity to create Croatia’s first all-glamping resort, and so went on to open Arena One 99 in June 2018.
Located in the peaceful village of Pomer, Pula in southern Istria and originally a limited service campsite, Arena spotted an opportunity to convert the pitches into glamping sites and create the country’s first luxury all-glamping resort in June 2018.
The site stretches over more than four hectares and is surrounded by nature with the very best facilities, including a private beach, open air wellness area, paddle board yoga, two beach bars and an illy Caffé. Arena One 99 offers tents to sleep up to six people with added luxury levels within the additional categories of Premium two bedroom safari loft tents and Premium three bedroom safari tents. All tents benefit from air conditioning, Wifi, bathroom, televisions and luxurious linen and amenities.
With media flocking to review the site, including international main titles such as the UK Metro, Stylist, The Sun and various titles in its main source market of Germany, it is no wonder that the site had high occupancy during the period it was open. Istria as a region continues to soar in success, with UK visitor numbers alone up by 10% compared with 2017, due in part to the increase in airlines flying direct to Pula, and also that it is continuing to be seen as a strong alternative to the main European beaches of Italy and Spain and resort holidays in Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia.
In October 2018 Arena One 99 Glamping was awarded Croatian campsite of the year at the Tourist Flower Awards of the Croatian National Tourist Board. The 2018 season also saw an average Google rating of 4.4 out of 5 and an average TripAdvisor rating of 4 out of 5 for the first season. In 2019, Arena One 99 is expected to open mid-April for its first full season operations.
The first two London theatres were built in Shoreditch – The Theatre and The Curtain Theatre. Shoreditch became the ample home of theatre and tomfoolery as the Lord Mayor prohibited such plays to be performed within the City walls.
Shoreditch was given an injection of visitor demand around the time of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Bridging The City, Bethnal Green and Haggerston and situated within the London Borough of Hackney, Shoreditch has historically been described as ‘somewhat rough around the edges’ but is now recognised as increasingly ‘edgy’, ‘creative’ and ‘hipster’. As of 2017, 269,000 people live in Hackney, an increase of 33% in 15 years. Shoreditch and its neighbour Hoxton became a clear development contender for us to open our art-inspired lifestyle hotel concept in the UK: art’otel.
The luxury lifestyle art’otel amsterdam opened in October 2013 with a bang. People queued to get a glimpse of the most hotly anticipated opening in Amsterdam that year. The hotel and destination cultural space 5&33, which includes a kitchen, bar, lounge, library and gallery, was the first of its type in the cosmopolitan city and was embraced fully, with the restaurant tables being turned two to three times a night!
It was clear that the art’otel brand was going to be a lifestyle brand to watch. Fast forward to 2019, Shoreditch is now recognised as the third largest technology start-up cluster following San Francisco and New York City. Shoreditch, aka Silicon Roundabout, is a leading cultivator of the art, fashion, tech and culture scenes – a place to see and be seen.
art’otel london hoxton development site Demonstrated by the success of the South Bank journey, PPHE Hotel Group, a seasoned discoverer of the next area for regeneration, worked closely with Hackney Council and developers to gain planning permission to introduce a mixed-use scheme offering hotel, restaurant and bar, and potential retail and co-working space.
The hotel and concepts will be operated as art’otel with the construction planning process crucial in integrating the local community and businesses, including the then-trading Red Gallery, and being part of Hackney’s regeneration and improvement of the site and thus the area itself.
The Company completed an acquisition from its joint venture partner of its 50% interest in the company which owns the site on which art’otel london hoxton is to be developed, on 20 March 2018. As a result we are now in the driving seat when it comes to creating its own construction timetable and pre-opening planning for the site.
