Netherlands: Extended stay owner/operator Cycas Hospitality has secured a significant investment from Hua Kee, a Thai family office.
Cycas Hospitality is the largest branded extended-stay hotels operator in the UK, with additional operations in Benelux and plans to roll out the concept across continental Europe. It is a ‘white-label’ operator that partners with institutional and private investors to maximise the full potential of their hotel assets. Its current clients include Starwood Capital, M&L Hospitality, and CLS Holdings plc; outside North America, it is the largest operator of Staybridge Suites and Residence Inn hotels.
Hua Kee, a a sizeable hotel owner and operator in South-east Asia, Australia and Europe, has acquired a one-third share in Cycas, and its investment provides the business not only with additional working capital but also a co-investment partner and potential for future deals.
Cycas Hospitality’s turnover under management is forecast to treble over the next two years from €38 million to more than €100 million based purely on the business’s existing, secured and signed pipeline of hotels. Cycas currently has 3,000 guest rooms either open and operating, or signed and in the pipeline; it intends to grow this to more than 10,000 in the next five years.
Eduard Elias, Cycas Hospitality’s co-founder, said: “Extended-stay accommodation, which includes serviced apartments and aparthotels, is a new and dynamic asset class in Europe and is evolving as a major subsector in the hotel industry as leisure and business travellers increasingly seek and value flexibility and independence. We are delighted to welcome Hua Kee as investors and partners. We have exciting plans; we are actively seeking additional hotels to operate across continental Europe; and Hua Kee’s investment provides us with the capital we need to achieve this next phase in our strategic plans.”
Erik Jacobs, on behalf of Hua Kee, said: “Cycas Hospitality is known for its exceptional customer service. This passion for wowing its customers, its clear market-leading position in this exciting, evolving market, together with its ambitious plans in Europe, made it a highly attractive investment proposition. In comparison with the US, Europe is largely underdeveloped and undersupplied in the extended-stay sector and we are anticipating this sector to gain significantly more market share in the short, medium and long-term. We are delighted to be Cycas Hospitality’s strategic partners and investors.”</p
