France-based budget hotel group B&B Hotels has continued its international expansion with the acquisition of Spanish economy hotel chain Sidorme. B&B is aiming to have 400 hotels in operation in the near future, following its acquisition by French private-equity firm PAI Partners.
The Sidorme deal adds a further 15 hotels and 1,367 rooms to B&B’s operations. The Sidorme hotels are mainly located in the Madrid, Castilla, Catalonia, Valencia, Andalusia and Basque Country regions. B&B entered the Spanish market with the purchase of four Holiday Inn Express hotels in 2015.
The group also has 252 hotels in France, 85 in Germany, 23 in Italy, five in Poland and one each in Morocco and the Czech Republic. It also recently announced plans to open hotels in Switzerland and Brazil, and is aiming to expand soon into Benelux and Austria, with the aim of reaching its 400 hotel target in the near future.
“The acquisition of the independent Spanish group Sidorme, which is positioned in the same market segment as B&B Hotels, will enable us to significantly strengthen our position in Spain, giving us 19 hotels in this country. This deal is in line with our continued international development and our ambition to eventually become an uncontested leader in the economy hotel segment,” said CEO Georges Sampeur.
After launching in Brittany in 1990, B&B has expanded rapidly in recent years and is looking to accelerate its expansion in all markets following its takeover by PAI Partners in March. Sampeur said earlier this year that the group wants to open 10-20 hotels a year in Germany, where it sees strong growth potential, with the aim of doubling its size in the country.
PAI Partners bought B&B from US asset management giant Carlyle and French private-equity firm Montefiore Investment after seeing off rival bids from two Chinese groups, and said it wanted to expand B&B’s European and international market coverage. PAI values its investment in B&B at €790m.