Cycas Hospitality, the European extended-stay hotel specialist, said it has secured a 'significant' investment from Hua Kee, a Thai family office which also owns and operates several hotels in Southeast Asia, Australia and Europe.
Under the multimillion deal, Hua Kee is taking a one third share of Cycas, providing working capital to the business and also lining up as a potential co-investment partner for future deals. Financial details were not disclosed.
Cycas Hospitality is the largest branded extended-stay hotels operator in the UK, with additional operations in Benelux as well as plans to roll out the concept across continental Europe.
The company's turnover under management is forecast to treble over the next two years from €38 mln to over €100 mln based purely on the existing 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.
'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,' said Eduard Elias, Cycas Hospitality’s co-founder. '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 added: '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.'
Hua Kee Group is a privately held conglomerate of various business holdings. With its origin in Thailand, Hua Kee are particularly active in the industrial, residential and hospitality sectors. On the hospitality side Hua Kee is active in Southeast Asia, Australasia and Europe with investments covering most areas in the hospitality sector ranging from urban full service conference hotels under Narai Group to smaller boutique hotels, resort hotels, limited service budget hotels, hostels and serviced apartments.
