A fund managed by ActivumSG Capital Management has sold the 161-guest room Hard Rock Hotel Madrid it established by converting an office building in the heart of Madrid’s Museum District to Arlaes Management for €65 million.
ActivumSG Iberia Fund I acquired the former municipal office building opposite the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in the Atocha district of Madrid after ActivumSG’s local team saw the potential to convert it into a hotel because of its close proximity to the city’s major tourist attractions, business center and principal shopping boulevards.
The 12,598 square meter hotel opened its doors to guests in July 2021. This followed intensive asset management by ActivumSG to obtain planning consent for change of use, the acquisition of an adjacent plot for broadening the future hotel’s amenities and overseeing the extensive works to transform the building. The team also signed a management agreement with Hard Rock International, which will continue to operate the hotel featuring restaurants and bars, an outdoor swimming pool in the gardens, a fitness center and a guest car park.
Brian Betel, ActivumSG’s Head of Direct Transactions in Europe, said: “We’ve taken this hotel project from a concept through to an operational asset primed for new ownership, in line with our development strategy of creating and selling great hotels. Our pan-European hotel strategies started in 2015, when we began to assemble a portfolio of assets in Spain’s major destinations. We went on to acquire Odyssey Hotel Group last year for scaling its footprint across the continent. We’re positive about the sector, anticipating a rebound in tourism and eventually business travel as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, so we’re looking for fresh investment opportunities.”
