A hotel investment platform focused on the Mediterranean sun and beach resort market previously half owned by Thomas Cook has been taken over.
LMEY Investments completed the acquisition of an outstanding 50% stake in Westfort Capital.
The deal, for an undisclosed sum, comes almost a year after the collapse of the iconic travel group.
Westfort Capital was established in May 2018 to acquire and reposition underperforming and underinvested hotels across Mediterranean, and seek “high growth opportunities” which complement the hotel portfolio.
The number of investments held has doubled from a seed portfolio of four operating hotels to eight today, with a further property expected to operate in 2021.
Westfort Capital continues to invest and operate its portfolio of hotels and is expected to grow in the future.
Current operators include new brand OKU Hotels, focused on the five-star luxury segment with existing hotels in Ibiza and Kos.
LMEY, established in 2012, is active with 20 hotels and resorts in 11 countries, with more than 3,200 rooms, rising to 5,000 hotel rooms after completion of current expansion plans.
Company founder Hans Kortlevers said: “Acquiring full ownership of Westfort Capital represents an exciting opportunity to expand LMEY’s investment in a robust platform, with an experienced management team and a high-quality hotel portfolio.
“The tourism industry has been challenged by the Covid-19 crisis, however we are confident that we have an attractive range of destinations, and the emerging appetite we’re seeing for bookings indicates a positive bounce back.
“With an excellent track record of growth, we look forward to the next phase and the prospect of further hotel investments in the near future.”
Westfort Capital managing director Piers Bradley said: “We are very pleased that LMEY have increased their shareholding to 100%.
“In LMEY we have a strong partner who supported our business from inception and who will continue to work with us to realise our ambitions for further growth.”