Belgrade Hotel Acquired by NBGP for $234M

NBGP Properties has acquired the Hotel Continental in Belgrade, Serbia from International CG (Genex) for approximately $234.1 million.  Also included in the sale were apartments, business facilities and tennis courts.  In a statement, NBGP Properties said it plans, in concert with Intercontinental Hotel Group, to convert the hotel to a Crowne Plaza.  The hotel has 415 rooms, including 30 suites. Hotel investment in Europe in 2007 fell slightly after a record year in 2006, according to HVS International. Total investment reached approximately $30 billion during 2007, a decline of 7 percent from the previous year. European hotels, though, performed strongly in 2007, as RevPar increased by approximately 6 percent over 2006. Central and Eastern Europe saw a decline of large single asset hotel transactions, according to HVS. The year saw a total of nine large transactions, down from 11 in 2006. HVS, in a report on European hotel investment, said the decline is likely due to a focus in Central and Eastern Europe on developing new assets, rather than acquiring existing hotels, outside of capital cities. NBGP Properties is a division of Delta Real Estate, a developer and investor that has been formed to make investments in Serbia and Montenegro, and has expanded its operations to Macedonia, Bosnia, Herzegovina and Albania. It main focus is shopping mall development, as well as mixed-use projects that contain hotel, commercial and residential properties.