Molinaro Koger Closes for Sardinia's Forte Village Resort
JUNE 29, 2007. Acting on behalf of LB FV LLC, a subsidiary of Lehman Brothers, hotel real estate advisory, brokerage, and capital markets firm Molinaro Koger (MK) sold the 758-room, beach-front Forte Village Resort in Sardinia. Forte Village was purchased by Italian private real estate fund, FIMIT sgr for EUR312 million.
'This was a rare opportunity to acquire one of the world's leading resorts at a time when new markets are opening up for Sardinia in northern and eastern Europe,' said Eric Kudlak, managing director, Europe, Molinaro Koger, who structured the sale.
Built in 1969, the luxury resort is located on Sardinia's southern coast, between the villages of Pula and Capo Spartivento, 45 kilometers from Sardinia's capital, Cagliari, and the Aeroporto di Cagliari Elmas. Forest Village is set in 55 acres of lush parkland and pine forest and comprises seven five-star deluxe and four-star hotels, 21 restaurants, 12 bars, a Thalassotherapy Spa, and extensive sport and leisure facilities including 13 swimming pools, 12 tennis courts, and an open-air ice skating rink. It has nearly 3,000 square meters of meeting space and an exclusive shopping mall, The Piazza, home to international retailers Gucci, Mont Blanc, Bulgari, Diesel and Rolex.
In the past five years, Forte Village has experienced exceptional increases in ADR of 15.8 percent and in RevPAR of 3.3 percent. Italians account for 44 percent of guests, with more than 50 percent repeat business. Visitors from the United Kingdom account for 21 percent of total demand, a figure forecast to increase due to an increased number of direct flights.
There are a limited number of luxury hotels on the island, with the majority found in the north, at least four hours from Forte Village. According to Smith Travel Research, the resort has consistently out-performed competitor hotels in occupancy, ADR and RevPAR.
Forte Village has won a range of accolades, including the Winner in the World Travel Awards of the 'World's Leading Resort' (1998 to 2004) and 'Europe's Leading Resort' (1998 - 2004), Readers Choice Awards in Cond'e Nast Traveler (2003), and Star Diamond Award (2001 - 2004) from The American Academy of Hospitality Science. In addition to Molinaro Koger acting as agent, Lehman Brothers served as financial advisor to LB FV LLC and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer served as legal counsel.
During the last 12 months MK has structured more than $3.8 billion in hotel real estate worldwide. In 2006, Molinaro Koger acted on behalf of Blackstone in the sale of the Great Eastern Hotel, London, for lb150 million. The firm's London office also brokered the transactions of the Copenhagen Marriott Hotel and the Sheraton Hotel Krakow. For further information about these transactions and current hotel property offerings, please contact MK at 703.760.9600 or via www.mkhotels.com.
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