INTERNATIONAL REPORT—The Boards of Hamilton Hotel Partners, an independent London-based hotel management and investment firm, and Pyramid Hotel Group, a privately owned full-service hotel and resort company based in Boston, have completed a transaction that involves the merger of the two businesses.
The merger will create an international group that will manage or asset manage a total of 141 hotels with 32,000 rooms across eight countries, and $6.9-billion of assets under management.
“We have been seeking a European partner for what seems like a long time,” said Warren Fields, co-founder/CEO, Pyramid. “We have found the right partners in Hamilton and we believe we can create significant synergies and growth opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic. This exciting merger will result in an enlarged management platform building on Pyramid’s institutional quality management and operational systems and Hamilton’s exceptional reputation and experience in the U.K. and throughout continental Europe. Our combined abilities will position us as a leading provider of hotel management and asset management services providing unrivaled service to both private equity and institutional investors alike.”
The merger will enable Hamilton to leverage Pyramid’s institutional hotel management infrastructure, and Pyramid will access Hamilton’s hotel advisory, asset management and management experience and track record in Europe. It was driven by Pyramid’s desire to rapidly expand its management platform in Europe, in response to the return of strong U.S. investor appetite. The combined entity will have a multinational base, providing a full service to institutional investors in the U.S., U.K., Europe and the Middle East.
“The appetite for hotel investment activity in Europe remains strong,” said Frank Croston, partner/co-founder, Hamilton Hotel Partners. “Capital sources are seeking qualified and aligned management partners to support their growth ambitions. This merger allows us to significantly accelerate our own organic plans for growth and to benefit hugely from the high quality and highly experienced team at Pyramid.”
Post-merger, Hamilton will continue to source hotel and resort transactions, co-invest with capital partners and manage hotels and resorts, while drawing on the strengths and experience of the Pyramid team. Both the Pyramid and Hamilton brands will be retained for the foreseeable future.
Fields will be the CEO of the combined group, with Croston and Chris Evans continuing in their roles leading the Hamilton business.
“Our firms share the same core values and philosophy with a value-adding, client-centric approach to everything that we do in both organizations,” said Evans, partner/co-founder of Hamilton Hotel Partners. “This is a very exciting time for the combined group, and we look forward to the future with confidence.”