(Posted 30th March 2022)
Barrows Hotel Enterprises (www.BarrowsHotels.com), the largest hotel investor in Africa starts a platform for hotel real estate in the African market. To meet the growing demand for hospitality, Barrows invests in hotel real estate such as Airport hotels, Business Hotels, Hotel Resorts and hotel facilities. The platform will contribute to broadening the commercial position in the market.
‘The hotel industry is a lucrative growth market, in which real estate always plays a fundamental role. The average traveler is expected to spend more on business trips and vacations in the coming years as the economy starts to recover after the global pandemic. That’s a long-term trend, and since Barrows is a long-term investor, investments in hotel real estate aligns nicely with the company’s strategy‘ said Barrows Chairman Erwin Jager.
It is also important that Institutional investors are increasingly focusing on hotel real estate. The cash flow that a hotel business entails, combined with a healthy profit expectation, makes many investors feel comfortable in this industry. It is perhaps one of the most dynamic markets at the moment. Hotels in the Middle East and the African continent will always have the right to exist. This has made it attractive for investors to invest in hotel real estate.
‘Barrows mainly focuses on the development of future-proof facilities for the hotel industry. They expect that within the foreseeable future, hotel companies will emerge on the African continent that will become as well-known as the large, resilient brand‘ added Erwin Jager.
Also, because the importance of hospitality in the society will increase further. Meeting the business community along the way and the creation of flexible workplaces means that a hotel has a unique position in society. We will therefore see more and more service providers entering the industry. Bringing together individual and business facilities will be a new way for the hotel sector to increase turnover and profit. With the entry of service providers, new rental opportunities will arise that will increase the value of hotel real estate.
Barrows is therefore happy to make its knowledge and capital available to parties that want to develop new hotel real estate. Much of the land that Barrows will buy will therefore comes from the various governments. The company currently has various options open to acquire more than 500,000 square meters. In the future, Barrows wants to develop hotel service real estate in which medical facilities will become available. Such initiatives have been investigated already for some time in various Chinese metropolises such as Shenzhen and Shanghai. The SPAC merger which will take place in the third quarter of 2022 will bring new possibilities for Barrows in the acquisitions of new hotel real estate located in imported areas.
To be successful within the African continent, collaboration with institutional investors is extremely important. ‘Barrows Hotel Enterprises is a major hotel real estate player in the Middle East and African Continent and is experienced in collaborating with pension funds, investment banks and insurance companies. It is of course positive for the new platform to be seen as the market leader and launcher in the field of new facility hotel real estate‘ concluded Chairman Erwin Jager.
West Africa is growing strongly and in the coming decades West Africa will develop more hotel resorts combined with new infrastructures which generates new visitors, jobs and new business opportunities.
Barrows Hotel Enterprises internationally manages over 10,000 hotel rooms in more than 10 countries. Barrows is specialized in the fast-growing hotel industry in the entire MENA Region including West Africa.
