Christie & Co advises Ares Real Estate Group on €440m global refinancing of Generator Hostels
Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co has advised funds managed by the Ares Real Estate Group on a €440m global refinancing of Generator Hostels’ European arm.
The transaction, which has been recognised as one of the largest real estate refinancings to date in 2023, was also completed with Generator’s existing lenders, Waterfall Asset Management and Värde Partner, who arranged €330m for Generator’s US arm.
Christie & Co provided consultancy and commercial due diligence services to Ares, including a review of the European hostel sector, and reviews of the portfolio as well as individual assets, together with loan security valuation advice.
Carine Bonnejean, Managing Director – Hotels at Christie & Co who led the consultancy and commercial due diligence along with Pierre Ricord, Head of Consultancy – Hotels, said, “We are delighted to have supported this landmark transaction both from a consultancy and valuation perspective. It is particularly positive for the hostels sector which is being increasingly understood by the investment community and offers great growth opportunities in the next few years, across Europe in particular.”
Pierre Ricord also comments, “It is fantastic to see this significant refinancing deal result from the seamless collaboration of our expert consultancy and valuation teams. We were able to develop creative research and methodology to support Ares in evaluating the fast growing and diversifying hostel market across Generator’s key gateway locations as well as the opportunities offered by the wider European development playing field.”
Alastair Hockley who led the valuation team said, “It was a pleasure to work with the team at Ares. The speed and quality of data provided enabled us to quickly build a bespoke valuation model for this pan-European hybrid hostel business. Our knowledge of the sector enabled us to provide unrivalled valuation advice upon which the client could rely.”
Generator is one of Europe’s leading hostel brands, offering a mix of private and shared accommodation and energised public spaces, in central locations across Europe and North America. The operator’s strong post-covid trading recovery has been a major factor in their ability to refinance their global debt in a challenging financial market.
For further information on this press release, contact:
Bronte Hughes, Corporate Communications Manager
P: 07721 420 656 or E: bronte.hughes@christie.com
