Two Ibis hotels in south Wales acquired by AGO

AGO Hotels has expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of two Ibis hotels in south Wales.

It has acquired the freehold interest in the 99-bedroom Ibis hotel in Swansea and a 104 bedroom Ibis budget hotel in Newport. Both hotels will continue to trade under their current brands following their acquisition, the value of which has not been disclosed.

The latest additions will bring the number of hotels leased and operated by AGO to 12 in the UK, adding to those in Burton-upon-Trent, Bromley, Lancaster, Stansted, Portishead, Bromsgrove, Dundee, Peterhead and Glasgow.

AGO said the epxansion comes with a resurgence of the hotel sector, with the return of business travel and rising demand for UK staycations.

AGO said it experienced a 29.5% increase in occupancy across its English and Scottish hotels in July and a further month-month 17% rise in August.

Lionel Benjamin, co-founder of AGO Hotels, which was set up in 2020 said: “We are delighted to announce the addition of these outstanding economy hotels in South Wales.

“Since launching last year, we have experienced rapid growth with 12 hotels now choosing to switch to our platform.

“We are expecting this number to continue to grow significantly over the next 12 months, as with the addition of more comfortable and affordable hotels across the UK.”

Viv Watts, co-founder of AGO Hotels added: “We are continuing to see widespread interest in AGO’s hybrid lease structure which benefits landlords both in valuation and yield terms, and we are looking forward to growing into new communities and engaging new asset owners with our distinctive offer of downside protection and genuine profit participation, having paid rents in full throughout the lockdown.”