ECE swoops for first UK hotel acquisitions
The European investor and developer has purchased two extended-stay hotels under IHG’s Staybridge Suites brand, located in Newcastle and Liverpool and delivering 260 rooms between them.
ECE Work & Live partnered with Maya Capital on the deal, with the latter sourcing the hotels and taking on the role of asset manager going forward.
Savills represented ECE on the transaction, and both properties will continue to be operated by Cycas Hospitality.
The acquisition kickstarts ECE’s strategy to build a UK portfolio of around seven to eight mid-sized hotels in the mid- to upscale segment.
ECE will continue to work with Maya to source further opportunities in UK regional cities outside of London, with a total investment amount of up to £150m.
It will be targeting centrally located, established properties operating under leading brands, with a proven performance record, as well as assets with value-add potential.
To that end, the Staybridge Suites Liverpool opened in 2008 and was refurbished in 2017, with 132 rooms across seven floors.
It is within walking distance of the city centre and close to James Street Metro station, directly on the waterfront and adjacent to Liverpool’s largest event arena.
Similarly, the Staybridge Suites Newcastle is within walking distance to the Quayside and one Metro stop from the main railway station.
It opened in 2009, was refurbished in 2024, and has 128 rooms across seven floors.
Jan-Hendrik Walloch, managing director investment at ECE, said: “The acquisition of the two Staybridge Suites hotels in Liverpool and Newcastle is part of our opportunistic approach to invest in smaller-scale UK hotel assets that, on an individual level, are too granular and often overlooked by institutional investors.
“Extended-stay concepts are in high demand in the UK and offer attractive recurring yields. We welcome the opportunity to build a portfolio with value-enhancing potential.”
David Pralong, managing director at Maya Capital added: “This venture combines both our expertise and resources to create value in a hotel segment where we have high conviction and that continues to show strong operating performance.”
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Over the years I have used the Liverpool Staybridge many times and always found it well run, smart, clean, and relaxing, so hopefully it stays that way. In Liverpool at present, for the first time in many years, we don’t seem to have any large scale hotels under construction, I think the last one was the Maldron. There was a large one on Duke St proposed backing onto Wolstenholme Square but that’s now a surface car park, also the Moxy never happened, nor the proposed Hilton Garden Inn on Renshaw where the site is derelict.
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