Sobieski Hotel changes hands

Europa Fund II, a private real-estate investment fund managed by Europa Capital, and Warimpex Finanz-und Beteiligungs AG, have acquired the 427-room Sobieski Hotel in Warsaw, together with an adjacent office building comprising 6,000 sqm of net rentable area.

The buyers purchased a 100-percent interest through the acquisition of shares in Jan III Sobieski. The new owners have decided that Sobieski Hotel will be managed by Vienna International Hotelmanagement AG.

Officials from both organizations appear confident about the investment. Robert Martin from Europa Capital commented that the growing economy, along with the resurgent hotel and office markets in Warsaw, has resulted in "an increased institutional interest and awareness of the considerable potential in the hotel business." Franz Jurkowitsch, Warimpex president, expressed a firm belief in the new management, stating that their competency would bring novel development opportunities to the Sobieski Hotel.

The Sobieski Hotel, which opened on July 2, 1992, was one of the first luxury hotels constructed in Warsaw after 1989. The hotel has a very prominent facade, which is painted in bright colors, and has made it one of the capital city's landmark buildings.

More than 100,000 tourists stay at the four-star Sobieski Hotel annually and during the last 10 months the hotel's occupancy has risen to 71 percent. Besides accommodation, the hotel also has conference facilities for business events and private functions.

Victoria Baghdjian