VIYM Sells Radisson Blu Park Palace, Vienna to Echo Fund for €66 million

Main Photo: The Radisson Blu Park Palace, Vienna

Date: September 2019

Location: Opposite Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

Name: Radisson Blu Park Palace Vienna

No. of Keys: 233

Seller: Alternative Investment Fund Manager VIYM. The hotel is leased to Austria Trend. HVS Hodges Ward Elliott acted for the seller. VIYM were the folks behind first Four Seasons hotel in Russia – St Petersberg in 2013 and several other hotels – Meininger and Hard Rock in St Petersberg.

Buyer: The buyer is the newly founded Switzerland-based Echo Fund.

The property is located at the intersection of the 13th and 14th districts of Vienna, directly opposite the Schönbrunn Palace. The upscale mixed-use hotel has 233 guestrooms, a restaurant, a bar, a lobby, a conference hall, a spa and a fitness centre.

VIYM, a private equity firm, assisted the seller in re-branding the former Austria Trend Hotel Park Royal Palace Vienna to the Radisson flag last year, and also helped close the transaction.

The private equity firm also provided consultancy services for the process of renovating and selling the private residences, which was completed in November 2018. Gloriette’s Residences is a complex of apartments on the top floors of the hotel and includes 10 serviced apartments. The project was designed and implemented by the A2ZEN design firm.

“As an advisor to the owner throughout the project lifecycle, VIYM oversaw several initiatives, which included re-branding the hotel, renegotiating the terms of bank financing and completing the process of renovating and selling the private residences, ultimately helping to achieve the best possible deal for the owner,” said VIYM co-founder Andrey Yakunin.

Vitus Eckert, founding partner of the Echo Fund, noted this was the fund’s first acquisition, and said the fund was poised to acquire two more hotels. “The property offers very attractive conditions to our investors with considerable value increase in the future,” added Michael Regner, founding partner of Echo. “As a first step, we have already implemented the start of a value-added extension of 14 rooms.”

The fund is identifying and purchasing hotels with a purchase price in the €10 million-€70 million range and a target acquisition yield at or above 5 percent, according to the company.

Price: €66m

Price per key: €283,000

THPT Comment: Vienna is hot right now with this deal coming just weeks after Munich and Vienna-based asset manager Wealthcore Investment Management acquired the 660-room Hilton Parkview hotel in Vienna, Accor annoncing the opening of a Jo&Joe at Westbahnhoff station and Hyatt bringing Andaz to Quartier Belverdere.

First Seen: Hotel Management

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