Bank owned hotel sales intensify including Athens Hilton

Intense activity concerning the selling of bank owned hotels has been recorded lately and is expected to peak during 2016.

As Greek Kathimerini newspaper reports:

"The National Bank of Greece transferred a hotel in Karystos, Bank of Cyprus sold a hotel in Glyfada and two in Corfu, Alpha Bank initiates the procedures for the sale of the Hilton Athens, and the Archdiocese of Athens is in the final phase of the tendering process of integration for long-term lease owned plant in Kolonaki.

According tourism and banking market insiders, the sales of hotels located in the portfolios of banks will intensify in 2016.

Asset restructuring and buyers interest

This is due to the asset restructuring that banks want to implement as well as the intense Greek and foreign prospective buyers interest in new units at attractive prices.

The National Bank of Greece completed transferring the closed Karystos "Amalia" hotel to FMS Properties Company for 1 million euros, following a competitive process and negotiation.

The group's owner Mr. Vangelis Alexandris, who started his involvement in the automotive sector in the US said he intends to convert the hotel which has been closed for decades into a five-star unit with 120 rooms capacity and additional facilities, such as a conference center and a spa. 

His aim is to develop alternative forms of tourism, such as sports and medical, to attract customers with special interests.

10 million euros investment 

The investment of about 10 million euros will commence in 2016 and the hotel is expected to open in 2018.

One of FMS activities is subletting cars to local car lease companies in order to meet the needs of the tourist season.

For this purpose, the Group intends to increase by 15% its fleet of 1,000 cars for the 2016 season.

Karystos Mayor Lefteris Raviolos favors the investment hoping it will attract tourists as well as other investments that will provide jobs to the local community.

Highest bidder with Mykonos hotel

On another front, the highest bidder in the Athens Archdiocese tender for long-term leasing of former Athens Lycabettus hotel in Kolonaki is Greek Travel Advisor IKE, owner of a 5-star Mykonos hotel.

The company submitted an offer of 25,000 euros monthly rent coupled with an € 812,000 investment. In total, 19 bids were submitted and 11 of those have been considered as initially valid.

At the next phase, Archdiocese's Metropolitan Council will convene to consider validating the bidding's conclusion.

Furthermore, Alpha Bank has initiated the procedures for selling Athens Hilton with Cityn as its consultant while Bank of Cyprus announced the sale of two hotels in Corfu and one in Glyfada for 9.6 million euros.

Eurobank group has recently agreed to sell an unfinished Athens hotel complex to a foreign company while Piraeus Bank commissioned the management of Domotel Kastri renovated hotel in New Eritrea to the Domotel Hotels and Resorts chain. To 86-room capacity hotel opened in early October