REAL ESTATE - Dutch civil service pension fund Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP and partners including an affiliate of the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. have agreed to buy the Hotel Arts Barcelona for €417m.

Maryland-based Host Hotels & Resorts said its joint venture in the Netherlands with ABP and Singapore's GIC Real Estate affiliate Jasmine Hotels had agreed to buy the property, a Ritz-Carlton hotel.  The deal assumes around €280m of debt.

It said: "The hotel, which is located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea in Barcelona, Spain, contains 483 luxuriously-appointed guestrooms, including 28 luxury duplex apartments. 

"The property, which recently underwent a comprehensive guestroom renovation that was completed in June 2006, also features 24,000 square feet of meeting space including the largest ballroom in Barcelona, five high-quality restaurants and a full-service spa with eight treatment rooms."

The deal includes the purchase of a casino leased to a third-party operator. 

"We are very pleased to be acquiring the Hotel Arts, one of the finest and most unique hotels in Europe at what we believe will be very attractive yields to the joint venture," said Host Hotels & Resorts chief executive Christopher Nassetta.

Host Hotels & Resorts owns or holds controlling interests in 129 luxury and "upper upscale" hotel properties.

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