Accor inks deal with Hoxton owner
April HutchinsonAccor has entered into a merger for several of its brands with Ennismore, creator of The Hoxton, as it seeks to create a powerful new company with lifestyle hotels at its heart.
The hospitality giant’s chairman and chief executive Sebastien Bazin said the lifestyle sector was “set to become the engine of our exciting future growth”, with the deal seeing the coming together of 12 brands.
Between them, the brands already have 73 hotels in operation, a committed pipeline of more than 110 hotels and 70 hotels under active discussion, all of which will now sit under the new London-based new entity that takes on the name Ennismore.
Sharan Pasricha founded Ennismore in 2011 and has gone on to cement Hoxton as one of the world’s leading lifestyle brands, with hotels in Europe and the US, as well as reimagining Scottish estate hotel Gleneagles for a new generation of luxury traveller.
The Hoxton and Gleneagles – along with Pasricha’s newest project Working From, a communal workspace brand – will now sit with the likes of Delano, SLS, Mondrian, SO, Hyde, Mama Shelter, 25hours, 21c Museum Hotels, Tribe and Jo&Joe.
Accor will be the majority shareholder of the new entity, with Pasricha holding a substantial minority position and becoming co-chief executive of the combined entity with Gaurav Bhushan, current chief executive of the Accor Lifestyle division.
The all-share merger creates what Bazin said will be a new “autonomous and fully asset light entity”.
“Lifestyle, entertainment, places with a soul have been at the heart of our development and growth strategy over the last years. Partnering with Ennismore’s founder Sharan and his great teams will take our lifestyle ambition to a new and exciting level,” said Bazin.
“With this combination, we are leading the hospitality industry by creating the largest and fastest growing ecosystem of world-class brands. Lifestyle is a sector fuelled by passionate and daring entrepreneurs, constantly pushing the boundaries of a reinvented vision of travelling the world. I am proud Accor has been able to join forces with many of the most creative and talented ones.”
According to the Financial Times, the deal turns the newly created Ennismore into a $1 billion company. Based on the current network and pipeline, the lifestyle platform should achieve an ebitda of €100 million by midterm and result in significant cost synergies of approximately €15 million per year.
Accor’s lifestyle operations today represent around 5% of its fees and more than 25% of the pipeline fees, and growth under the brands will now be accelerated worldwide.
Accor is also buying out its partners in SBE, Mama Shelter and 25hours, but said that each of those lifestyle brands “will retain their unique culture and purpose”, supported by dedicated teams, and with the full support of founders such as the Trigano family (Mama Shelter); Christopher Hoffman (25Hours); Sam Nazarian (SBE); Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson (21C), and Melissa and Mark Peters (Tribe).
“Over the past nine years, our mission with Ennismore has always been creating hospitality brands that inspire discovery,” said Pasricha. “I’m passionate about how brands make you feel, from the personalised digital experience to the design, and with an incredible team of operators and creatives around me, we have expanded The Hoxton across the globe, reimagined Gleneagles and crafted unique restaurant and bar concepts. I look forward to working with Gaurav and Sebastien on this exciting next chapter as we become an unrivalled player in the hospitality industry.”
Pasricha’s existing plans within Ennismore had included a townhouse sister for Gleneagles in Edinburgh; a new shared workspace brand called Working From; Sibling, a new hotel proposition for value and convenience; and redevelopment of Eynsham Hall, a 50-acre country-house estate in Oxfordshire along with a new private members’ club in London.
Over the summer, The Hoxton set up Camp Hox for the month of August in the grounds of Eynsham Hall, where 12 tents cost £185 per night (or £2,000 per night for exclusive use), with a proper bed set up in each one and bikes available to explore the countryside.
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April Hutchinson
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