ECHO acquires two Hotels in Budapest for EUR 22 million

Pfäffikon, 24 September 2019 – ECHO Partners AG (“ECHO Partners”) completed today the acquisition of two hotels through its Luxembourg hotel fund ECHO Fund SCS (“ECHO”). ECHO has acquired the four-star hotels Palazzo Zichy and Parlament which are both centrally located in Budapest and are top ranked by travellers.

Acquisitions exceeding ECHO’s acquisition requirements

The two acquisitions are entered shortly after the previously announced acquisition of the Radisson Blu Park Royal in Vienna on 19 July 2019 and is a further milestone for ECHO in the establishment of a diversified Continental European hotel portfolio. ECHO Partners was able to further demonstrate its capability to quickly close transactions via off-market sourcing. The assets have a combined purchase price of EUR 22MM, an implied acquisition yield of 6.0% clearly exceeding ECHO’s target hurdle of 5% and a remaining WAULT of 7 years. The hotels’ combined 145 rooms achieved an occupancy rate exceeding 90% in recent years. The tenant contract is a triple net contract and thus guarantees maximum cash flow conversion for ECHO and its investors. The acquisition was financed via a long-term loan at app. 50% loan-to-value and a fixed interest rate below 2% p.a.

Both hotels are excellently located in the inner city of Budapest in close vicinity to sights and public transport and are ranked among the top 10 Hotels in the Budapest according to Tripadvisor. Budapest is one of the fastest growing tourist destinations with an expected double-digit increase in room rates in line with historical growth rates above 10% p.a. in recent years.

ECHO has furthermore identified significant value potential via proactive asset management, including further embedded upside from the current leases being clearly below market level.

Commentary

Vitus Eckert, Founding Partner of ECHO, states: “We are proud to announce the completion of the acquisition of two Budapest hotels shortly after the acquisition of the Radisson Blu Park Royal Palace Hotel in Vienna. The acquisitions exceed again our clearly defined acquisition criteria and are highly attractive for our investors. Furthermore, both hotels offer significant further upside potential in one of the a most rapidly growing European hotel market”.

Contact

ECHO Partners AG
Contact: investors@echopartners.fund
Phone: +41794424886
www.echopartners.fund

About ECHO Partners AG

ECHO Partners AG (“ECHO”), based in Pfäffikon, Switzerland, invests in hotels, which are located in leading Continental European tourist destinations, such as Vienna, Amsterdam or Budapest and relies on long-term tourism trends. We are identifying and purchasing hotels with a purchase price in the EUR 10-70MM range and a target acquisition yield at or above 5%. The ECHO Fund is the first investment fund of ECHO Partners to implement this strategy.