Swedish hotel group Pandox declared 2024 a solid year, and says the outlook for 2025 remains positive across the European markets where it operates.
“We are active in Europe, which is the world’s largest hotel market with strong structural growth drivers,” said CEO Liia Nou as she presented the 2024 results. “Travel and tourism is one of the largest industries in the world, accounting for almost 10% of global GDP and a substantial share of new jobs created.”
A major European hotel owner
Pandox claims to be the largest listed pure hotel property owner in Europe, owning 161 hotels at the end of 2024, across 11 countries and with coverage in 90 destinations. All together, the properties add up to a total of 35,700 rooms.
The majority of the group’s properties are leased to operators, usually via revenue-linked lease agreements, while 21% of the portfolio by value are operated directly by Pandox. Often these directly managed properties are run by Pandox as they establish the best future option for positioning and branding a property. Once this is worked out, a new operator will sign a new lease for the property, to take it forward. Pandox deliberately targets upper midmarket hotels, in markets with strong domestic demand.
During 2024, Pandox acquired five new hotels, spending a total of SEK4.5bn for the additions. And it sold one non-core property, the DoubleTree by Hilton in Montreal.
Summer 2024 saw Pandox spend GBP230m acquiring a portfolio of three apart hotels in London, with a total of 503 rooms between them. The standing properties switched with existing branding under the Residence Inn by Marriott banner. The three assets, managed by Axiom Hospitality, were all repositioned prior to the pandemic. Thanks to strong environmental credentials, Pandox was able to secure a green bank loan against the properties.
Additionally, the DoubleTree by Hilton Edinburgh was acquired in September 2024 from seller Starwood Capital. The 138 room property has a franchise agreement with Hilton currently running to 2027, and is being managed by a long term Pandox partner, Axiom Hospitality.
Buying in Norway
Finally, as the calendar ticked over into 2025, the group bought the Radisson Blu hotel in Tromso, northern Norway. Pandox plans to work with Radisson Hotel Group on plans for a full refurbishment of the hotel, in the medium term. And that deal was swiftly followed by another transaction, as Pandox signed a lease with operator Numa for the Hotel Hubert in Brussels. Having operated the hotel under its own management since taking it over in 2017, the repositioned property with 100 rooms will support Numa’s European expansion.
The group also invested heavily in upgrading and repositioning some of the properties in its portfolio. These added up to around SEK1bn spent on assets including Scandic Nürnberg Central, Citybox Brussels, Scandic Go Sankt Eriksgatan 20 and DoubleTree by Hilton Brussels City. For 2025, the figure is expected to grow to SEK1.1bn, with upcoming refurbishments at Quality Hotel Lulea and Leonardo Hotel Christchurch.
