Warimpex & Co concluded sale of InterContinental in Warsaw   

As announced at the end of October, Warimpex Finanz- und Beteiligungs AG and UBM Realitätenentwicklung AG are selling the InterContinental hotel in Warsaw to WestInvest InterSelect, a retail real estate fund of Germany’s DekaBank group. The transaction closing took place in Warsaw today. At a price of over 100 mn euros, the sale is the largest hotel deal ever in Poland. And it may turn out to be even larger, because a price increase was agreed if the hotel performs well enough.

In order to profit from the very positive development of the hotel in the coming years, Warimpex and UBM will be leasing the hotel back under a fixed agreement as part of the transaction, and will continue to run the hotel under the InterContinental brand until 2027.

UBM CEO Karl Bier is pleased to be able to participate in the future development of the hotel: “By retaining ownership of the operating company until 2027, we have secured future profit potential. This lease structure has proven its value in many hotel transactions already, provides the new owner with a fixed return independent of market risk and the operation of the hotel, and brings the seller liquidity for new investments.”

The transaction is the most successful property sale for Warimpex to date. “For us, the sale of the InterContinental hotel is an extremely positive conclusion to the current financial year and also lays a solid foundation for a successful 2013. We are confident that the transaction markets will continue to develop positively in the coming months, and that we will be able to continue the successes of this year,” said Franz Jurkowitsch, CEO of Warimpex.