Thomas Cook has Created a £150 million Fund with Swiss-based Property Developer LMEY Investments

Date: March 2018

Location: The 50-50 joint venture will initially involve five assets in Greece and Spain.

Name: Thomas Cook Hotel Investments

Who: Thomas Cook Group, one of the world’s leading holiday companies, today announces the launch of its hotel fund – Thomas Cook Hotel Investments – a joint venture with Swiss-based hotel property development company, LMEY Investments. The joint venture will be 50/50 owned by Thomas Cook and LMEY.

Thomas Cook Hotel Investments will consist of five seed hotel assets worth around £150 million, and will help to accelerate Thomas Cook’s growth of its own-brand hotel portfolio.

Thomas Cook Hotel Investments will focus on acquiring hotel properties across Thomas Cook’s key destination markets, to expand its portfolio of own-brand hotels, leveraging the addition of third-party capital over time. They have appointed Ingo Burmester as Thomas Cook’s Chief Hotels Officer

The five seed assets include two Thomas Cook hotels, the long-standing family resort Sunwing Kallithea in Rhodes and the well-established Sunwing Makrigialos in Crete.

LMEY has agreed to contribute three hotels, including two Aldiana-branded hotels in Spain, one in Andalucia and the other in Alcadesia.

The third property will be the investment vehicle’s first joint project – the development of a fifth Casa Cook – the award-winning boutique lifestyle brand.

This fifth Casa Cook, the first in Spain, will open in Ibiza in Summer 2019, transforming an existing property combined with an adjacent plot of land into a stunning 200-room hotel. The Ibiza plot lies in the tranquil bay of Cala Gracio, a short distance from San Antonio, whose legendary sunsets and world-famous clubs make it an ever-popular spot on the White Isle for holidaymakers.

Since opening its first hotel in Rhodes two years ago, Casa Cook has won accolades for its design credentials, and has attracted new customers to the holiday company.

Following the Rhodes opening, Casa Cook opened its second hotel on Kos last summer, with more than two-thirds of bookings from people new to Thomas Cook.

The third Casa Cook will open this summer on the Greek island of Crete, the first of the collection’s hotels dedicated to families.

The fourth, in Brela, Croatia, restoring a well-known classic 60s hotel, will open in 2019.

The gross assets and profit before tax of the two Thomas Cook hotels transferred into the joint venture were £63.5 million and £4.8 million respectively, as at 30 September 2017.

The legal ownership of the seed assets will transfer to the fund on its completion later this month, following the satisfaction of the remaining completion conditions.

THPT Comment: Hmmmm…Thomas Cook clearly is a world renowned name in tour operating…and must use millions of roomnights a year for it’s leisure clients… does this make it right to own and manage hotels? Having said that Thomas Cook operates or franchises over 180 hotels in 17 countries, with 11 new hotels added in 2017!

Swiss-based LMEY is an investment company, headed up by Marc Sontag, COO, established in 2012 with 20 hotels, 5,000 rooms in 11 countries. They have been here before, acquiring the club hotel brand Aldiana in 2016. Some of the hotels are managed by Van der Valk Hotels.

First Seen: Hotel News Now