APG has expanded its hotel portfolio with the investment in the Dutch hotel chain City ID and the Harrington Hall hotel in London's South Kensington. City ID is one of the leading players in the field of aparthotels (merging apartments and hotels). Aparthotels have all the advantages of a hotel (cleaning - service - meal service) but consist of apartments instead of rooms.
The locations of City ID distinguish themselves in different parts from the more traditional hotels. They offer an ideal solution for guests looking for longer-term accommodation, says Robert-Jan Foortse, head of European Property Investments at APG. “In our opinion, there is a considerable market opportunity to roll out this concept to the major European cities. We look forward to getting started with the City ID team. ”
Amsterdam
City ID currently has three hotels in Amsterdam. For the past two years, City ID has opened the Twenty Eight hotels on Stadionplein and Boat & Co in Houthaven. Unique interiors, attention to design, a wide range of services; with those characteristics, the hotel scores one of the highest customer ratings in the city.
Alexander Goad, CEO of City ID, sees APG as an important partner to realize that growth. “APG is a leading strategic investor in Europe. The company has a great track record when it comes to putting innovative hotel chains on the international map. ”
Harrington Hall
In addition to the investment in City ID, APG has taken over London's Harrington Hall Hotel in a joint venture with real estate investor London Central Portfolio (LCP). It is a redevelopment into an all-suite hotel in the upper middle class. The hotel focuses on budget-conscious business guests and tourists.
With the shares in City ID and Harrington Hall, APG is steadily expanding its investments in the hotel sector. Other interests of APG in the European hotel sector are Archer Hotels, CitizenM and The Student Hotel. According to Robert Jan, these are investments with an attractive long-term return compared to the risk involved. He anticipates that the sector will receive a further boost in the coming years due to the expected growth in tourism and business travel.