In a sale-and-lease-back-transaction Union Investment has acquired the Barceló Hotel Hamburg for the open-ended real estate fund “UniImmo: Deutschland“ and hereby initiated its cooperation with the third largest Spanish hotel operator. Barceló Hamburg is a new 4-star-superior hotel with 193 rooms, which opened in March 2012. Simultaneously, Union Investment acquires the famous Hotel Barceló Raval in Barcelona. The purchase agreement for Barceló Raval should be closed in spring 2013. Union Investment leases both Hotels in the long term to the Barceló Group.
Union Investment is one of the largest German asset managers for private and institutional investors. The investment company is headquartered in Frankfurt a. M. and has been active in the investment funds business since over 50 years.
The Barceló Group is the third largest hotel operator in Spain and likewise one of the country’s largest tourist companies. Established in 1931 as a family-owned company in Palma de Majorca, the Barceló Group today operates 142 hotels in 16 states in Europe, Latin America and USA.
Barceló has been supported by GvW Graf von Westphalen in its German operations since 2009. For the current transaction, the GvW Hospitality-Team led by Dr. Ulrich Schroeder intensively advised on the sale-and-lease-back-transaction in Hamburg as well as partially on the transaction in Barcelona. Dr. Schroeder: “We have advised Barceló Group regarding the Barceló Hotel Hamburg since its construction and opening, to the search for investors and up to the entry of Union Investment. We congratulate our client to the establishment of the strategic cooperation with Union Investment.“
The Barceló Group has been advised on this transaction by the Partners Dr. Ulrich Schroeder (Lead, M&A, Berlin), Dr. Holger Kühl, LL.M. (Employment, Berlin) and Dr. Robert Theissen, LL.M. (Real Estate and Construction, Hamburg), the Associated Partner Katharina Feddersen, LL.M. (Real Estate and Construction, Hamburg), and the Associate Dr. Philipp Wallau, LL.M. (M&A, Berlin).
GvW Graf von Westphalen advised the transmission system operator 50Hertz on the award of a major contract for the North Sea Connector 2 offshore grid connection project. The project involves the planning, construction, installation and commissioning of a converter system comprising an offshore converter platform in the North Sea and an onshore converter station in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The North Sea Connector 2 project is intended to connect offshore wind farms in the North Sea to the German electricity grid in future.
GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised Primepulse and Vsquared Ventures on the Series C financing round of NEURA Robotics GmbH. The transaction ranks among the largest venture financing rounds in the European startup ecosystem to date.
GvW Graf von Westphalen has advised Ethereal Space, Inc., a pioneering commercial space company, on space and satellite law matters and the establishment of its affiliate Ethereal Space GmbH.
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