YOTEL ANNOUNCES PLAN TO DOUBLE PORTFOLIO IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS
LONDON, April 1, 2025 -- YOTEL, the global hotel brand challenging the status quo of the hospitality industry, ('YOTEL' or 'the Company'), announces today that its majority shareholder the Al-Bahar Group ('the Group') has acquired an additional 30% stake in the Company. The stake was previously held by a controlled affiliate of Starwood Capital Group ("Starwood Capital"), a global investment firm focused on real estate. The investment increases the Group's holding in YOTEL to more than 95%.
Talal Al Bahar, Chairman, YOTEL and Al-Bahar Group comments:
"I am delighted with the YOTEL team's incredible achievements over the last 15 years. From humble beginnings, YOTEL is now a global company with an expansive portfolio of properties in prime locations. We are profitable, financially self-sustaining and growing rapidly.
I am truly grateful to Starwood Capital for their contribution to this success and for eight years of strong partnership.
Our investment today underscores our confidence in the future of YOTEL. Going forward, we will be looking for new and diverse opportunities to develop YOTEL's brand awareness, franchise model and distribution, to support our ambitious growth plans. We are also making additional capital available for exceptional development opportunities. We are building YOTEL's exciting future on very strong foundations."
Hubert Viriot, CEO, YOTEL comments:
"Talal's vision made YOTEL the success we are today. His additional investment is not just an endorsement of our potential, it also makes us more competitive and agile, simplifying our structure and giving us access to additional growth capital.
YOTEL is now one of very few independent, global asset-light hotel brands. Independence and financial stability give us a unique edge: enabling us to focus on delivering an exceptional guest experience and on long-term portfolio development.
In recent years we have significantly strengthened our senior team and built-out a sophisticated operating platform, to support our portfolio and accelerate future growth. YOTEL has an exciting future ahead with a strong development pipeline and, as announced in Berlin today at IHIF 2025, a plan to double the YOTEL portfolio to 15,000 rooms globally by 2030."
Tim Abram, Managing Director, Global Co-Head of Hotels, Starwood Capital, comments:
"We would like to thank the Al-Bahar Group along with the rest of the Board, the Management team, and all the employees at YOTEL for their partnership and hard work over the last eight years. YOTEL has achieved tremendous growth over this time period, which is something everyone can be proud of.
We wish the company the best of luck on the next exciting chapter of growth and meanwhile remain an enthusiastic partner of YOTEL as owners of two YOTEL properties."
Starwood Capital, through its controlled affiliates, has been a powerful development partner, providing capital and expertise, helping to institutionalise the Company and grow the YOTEL portfolio from six to 34 properties (see appendix) in prime locations around the world.
About YOTEL
YOTEL is a global hospitality brand based in London, with regional offices in the US and Asia. It has a portfolio of three brands: YOTEL (city centre hotels), YOTELPAD (extended stay option) and YOTELAIR (airport hotels).
The Company has 23 operating hotels across 16 buzzing cities and airports around the world including New York, Boston, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Miami, Tokyo, Singapore, Edinburgh, London, Amsterdam, Porto, Geneva, Glasgow, Manchester, Paris, and Istanbul. In addition, it has 11 hotels in the pipeline due to open over the next 24 months in Lisbon, London, Belfast, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, New York, NEOM (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and Perth.
NOTE: The Al-Bahar Group's stake is held through three different entities: United Investment Portugal, Kuwait Real Estate Company (Aqarat) and Med Al-Bahar International Limited.
The Al-Bahar Group has been invested in YOTEL since inception in 2005 and the Company's major shareholder since 2013.
About Al-Bahar Group
Al-Bahar Group is a diversified conglomerate comprising listed and unlisted companies across multiple sectors in the Gulf and beyond. Under the leadership of Talal Al-Bahar, the group maintains a strong presence in financial services, real estate, insurance and food, while expanding its footprint through strategic investments and subsidiaries.
In Kuwait's public market, Al-Bahar Group includes leading financial institutions such as Arzan Financial Group for Finance and Investment, Aldeera Holding, and International Financial Advisors Holding; real estate companies Kuwait Real Estate Company (AQARAT) and IFA Hotels and Resorts; and First Takaful Insurance Company providing Sharia-compliant insurance solutions.
Talal Al-Bahar also represents the group's interests in Boursa Kuwait, Kuwait's national stock exchange and in MIAX, a U.S.-based operator of global financial exchanges and execution services.
Al-Bahar Group's companies also include EFS Facilities Services, United Hospitality Management (UHM), Strive Services Group, and Domus Managed Housing.
EFS is a regional powerhouse in integrated facilities management, operating across 25 countries while managing over 75 million square meters of real estate and a contract backlog exceeding $2.5 billion.
UHM brings +30 years of luxury hospitality expertise as a global management company, partnering with world-class brands including Marriott's Luxury Collection, IHG's Vignette Collection, Hyatt, Wyndham, Sheraton, YOTEL, Accor, Mövenpick, Bespoke Hotels, and voco Hotels.
Strive Services Group delivers an integrated facilities management solution for real estate asset owners across the UAE and beyond. Domus Managed Housing, a division of Strive Services Group, specializes in purpose-built corporate housing solutions for clients including Wyndham, Mövenpick, and Millennium Hotels.
Currently, Al-Bahar Group operates in over 25 countries, developed and invested in more than 80 projects, +21,000 keys, +3,000 commercial units, and +46 hotels under +10 international brands.
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