AccorInvest announces the completion of a significant asset exchange transaction with Covivio Hôtels, a dedicated subsidiary of Covivio. This operation marks a key milestone in AccorInvest’s transformation plan, aimed at consolidating its hotel assets and increasing the profitability of its portfolio.
Asset Exchange to Strengthen the Portfolio
The asset exchange, initiated in 2023, is part of a strategic restructuring of the hotel assets owned by AccorInvest and Covivio. The operation consists of two main components:
- AccorInvest’s acquisition of 16 hotel properties, where it already holds the business assets, from Covivio and its partners.
- The sale of 43 hotel business assets, where Covivio already owns the properties, to Covivio and its partners.
This restructuring aims to strengthen AccorInvest’s presence in high-return assets, primarily in the economy and midscale segments, and increase the proportion of fully owned hotels. It aligns perfectly with the group’s transformation strategy, which focuses on improving the quality and value of its portfolio in Europe.
A Beneficial Operation for AccorInvest
The finalization of this asset exchange represents a major strategic step for AccorInvest, reinforcing its positioning. This acquisition allows the group to increase the number of fully owned assets in its portfolio, ensuring complete control over value creation levers. Furthermore, the transaction improves the liquidity and valuation of these assets, amounting to a total of 393 million euros.
Optimizing Profitability and Reducing Costs
One of the main benefits of this operation for AccorInvest is the reduction of lease expenses by 22 million euros. This enables the group to optimize its operating margin and significantly improve profitability. This restructuring will also strengthen AccorInvest’s position in the European hotel market, further consolidating its portfolio of solid and strategic assets.
A Pivotal Step in AccorInvest’s Transformation
The asset exchange between AccorInvest and Covivio represents a turning point in the group’s transformation, contributing to its growth and future development. With this acquisition, AccorInvest strengthens its position in the European hotel market and is poised for greater profitability, while continuing its strategy of diversification and consolidation.
During the Hospitality Asset Forum, held on November 28 at the InterContinental Paris – Le Grand, Gilles Clavie, CEO of AccorInvest, addressed the transformation of the company:
“I will talk to you about AccorInvest’s transformation. It’s not completely finished, but we have finally managed to pull through. How have we turned a crisis into an opportunity? What were the strengths of our group?
We’ve gone through successive crises. In the face of this, we needed a solid model and a robust profile. And AccorInvest has managed to offer better control over value creation. As for our profile, we decided to focus on Europe and streamline the portfolio. We have real expertise in the economy and midscale segments, and I truly believe these are the most resilient segments, those that recover fastest after a crisis.
The transformation we’ve implemented affected both the capital structure with the support of our shareholders and the work on our debt maturities with our financial partners. We established an asset disposal plan. We engaged in meticulous work, asking ourselves the right questions, one by one. The most challenging part was reconciling a short-term decision with a long-term vision.
Our commitment is structured around three main pillars: respecting the environment, acting responsibly in society, and bringing positive contributions.
After the economic transformation, ESG is at the heart of our transformation and strategy. As of September 2024, our revenue increased by 4%, with EBITDA up by 8%, but most importantly, our operational margin exceeds the level we had in 2019. This was the whole point of this transformation: to emerge stronger from this crisis.
Regarding the asset exchange between AccorInvest and Covivio, I consider it a positive operation for all parties involved, both for AccorInvest and Covivio. This will allow AccorInvest to create value in terms of portfolio, increase margins, reduce lease costs, and therefore generate more cash. This complex transaction was made possible thanks to the dialogue and mutual trust established with Tugdual Millet.
Looking ahead, we still have a few occupancy points to recover compared to 2019. Our goal is to continue making targeted investments, but also to continue digitalizing our hotels. Today, all our hotels are now digitalized, and we plan to continue on this path.”
