Macfarlanes advises Foncière des Murs on purchase of UK prime portfolio for £858m
04 May 2018Macfarlanes has advised French real estate investment company Foncière des Régions’ hotel subsidiary Foncière des Murs on the purchase of 14 four and five-star hotels for £858m from American investment firm Starwood Capital.
This acquisition will give Foncière des Régions a presence in the UK and follows recent ventures into the German and Spanish markets in line with the company’s strategy for geographical diversification.
At the same time it has secured an arrangement with InterContinental Hotels Group to rebrand and operate the portfolio following closing.
The Macfarlanes team for this matter was led by the co-heads of the firm’s hotels practice, real estate partner Dominic Cunliffe and corporate and M&A partner Simon Perry. They were supported by construction partner Angus Dawson, corporate and M&A partner Nicholas Barclay, tax partner Mark Baldwin and insurance partner Andrew Barton together with a wider team of Macfarlanes’ senior counsel and solicitors.
Dominic Cunliffe comments: “We are delighted to have worked on Foncière des Murs’ debut deal in the UK. The firm’s hotels practice is perfectly placed to deliver on high value, complex transactions like this where genuine cross-practice collaboration is vital. Macfarlanes is a relationship driven firm and being able to build the trust of a new internationally focused client quickly was essential to the success of the deal.”