Actis, a leading Private Equity firm that invest in Real Estate, energy and consumer businesses, signed an agreement with Westmont Hospitality Group (“Westmont”), and has acquired an undisclosed stake and amount in Four Points Sheraton hotel located on Victoria Island in Lagos, Nigeria, companies say in a statement.
The joint venture between the private-equity house, Actis and Westmont Hospitality Group will enable both firms; harness their complementary expertise in acquiring hospitality assets in major cities across sub-Saharan Africa, both firms said.
“This is a very neat fit for our respective needs and ambitions in the region”, Funke Okubadejo, Director at Actis, based in Lagos, said.
“Hospitality is capital intensive and requires an experienced trusted partner able to handle the operating aspects. Westmont has a fantastic reputation as an operating partner and franchisee for some of the most prestigious hotels in the world and Actis has unparalleled experience investing on the ground in Africa. We are very excited about the potential of this venture together”, Okubadejo said in a mail response to BusinessDay.
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The deal is coming one week after Asset & Resource Management Holding Company Limited’s (ARM) announced its successful exit from Oceanwinds Hospitality Limited (OHL), owners of Four Points by Sheraton Lagos Hotel.
Four points declined to comment on the deal.
Actis has a long heritage of investing in Africa having committed US$4,5bn to the region over the last 15 years, and Actis is the largest Private Equity Real Estate GP in sub-Saharan Africa.
Westmont, founded in 1975, is one of the world’s largest privately held hospitality groups having owned or operated over 1,100 hotels globally including hotels in Mozambique and Zambia.
Westmont has invested alongside institutional partners since 1993, representing over US$9,0bn of invested capital globally.
Ewan Cameron, director of Development (Africa) at Westmont, said “Westmont has committed to expanding its hospitality investments in Africa, and is delighted to have partnered with Actis on the acquisition of Four Points Lagos. We look forward to collaborating with Marriott to ensure Four Points Lagos fulfils its potential to be the preferred business hotel at the heart of Lagos’ Victoria Island.”
The Four Points by Sheraton Lagos is well located amongst the commercial nodes of Lagos and close to the Central Business District, making it an attractive venue for international business travellers.
The Four Points by Sheraton Lagos – OHL’s single asset – is an internationally branded 234-key hotel, with 231-room, 8 meeting and conference rooms, 4 Food & Beverage outlets and a full service Spa and Fitness center. ARM initiated and managed the development of the hotel which began operations in 2010, following which ARM provided asset management services which have seen the hotel’s Revenue Generation Index (RGI) consistently rank among the top 2 in its competitive set.
