European aparthotel owner operator Staycity has acquired a majority stake in a German extended stay business, Felix Group.
The transaction means the group will immediately add two more operational sites in Germany, and a pipeline project in Austria, to its growing business. The additions will further expand the group’s burgeoning portfolio across the continent, as the company looks to build both its core Staycity brand, and its premium aparthotel offering, Wilde.
Adding ready built sites
Felix Group has two operational sites, in Dresden and Leipzig. Both properties, which total 388 rooms, will be rebranded to Staycity in the coming months. Felix is also part way through the construction of another development in the Austrian capital, Vienna. This project, with 130 apartments, will be redesigned and refinished in its final months of construction to open in the second quarter of 2025 under Staycity group’s boutique aparthotel brand, Wilde.
“We are thrilled at the prospect of operating aparthotels in the heart of these three beautiful European cities and very much look forward to working with the team at Denkmalneu as well as welcoming new colleagues from the Felix Group,” said Tom Walsh, CEO of Staycity Group. Thomas Scherer, CEO and founder of the Denkmalneu Group, which is behind the Felix brand, added: The synergies between us as a project developer and Staycity as an experienced operator form a strong foundation for a successful joint venture.”
Right now, Staycity has around 5,800 rooms open across 35 aparthotels in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and the UK. Prior to the deal signed with Denkmalneu, the company already had a strong pipeline of projects, as it drives towards a target of 20,000 units by 2032.
In summer 2024, Staycity appointed Andrew Fowler its new chief development officer, and established a new standalone development platform, Carnsor, which he will lead. Carnsor will be responsible for sourcing sites, and developing new aparthotel properties for the Staycity and Wilde brands.
For Fowler, it is a return to Staycity, where he worked as acquisitions director from 2007 to 2012. As well as focusing on growth in Staycity’s existing markets, he will also be looking to add sites across Spain, Italy, the Nordics and central and eastern Europe.
A strong pipeline to open
Already committed projects for opening in 2025 are new sites in Amsterdam, Cambridge and another site in London, as well as two launches in Lisbon and Porto in Portugal. There are also plans to add a Staycity with 103 units in St Helier, on the island of Jersey.
The Wilde brand will be adding a 270 unit property in London’s Shoreditch, expected to open during 2025. There are also sites in preparation in Munich, while in Oxford, a former cinema site will be transformed to create 145 apartments for rent. And in Bordeaux, a 113 room Wilde will be part of a larger mixed use development in the city centre. Two more London sites, in Vauxhall and Blackfriars, have recently been acquired.
