OISTERWIJK/SITTARD – Brabant-based investment company Somerset Capital Partners (SCP) has made a significant investment in Sittard-based hotel operator Black Label Hospitality (BLH). This development paves the way for BLH to accelerate its growth in the Netherlands and spread its wings abroad sooner than expected, says BLH managing director Martin Hendricks. “Our company is on the eve of solid expansion. Thanks to SCP’s confidence in us, we can realise that growth at an accelerated pace.”

Portfolio and development

BLH currently has six hotels operational in the Netherlands and in addition, one under construction. Supported by the world’s most renowned hotel brands such as Accor, Hilton, Marriott and Intercontinental, the newcomer to the hotel market has evolved from a startup to an established and distinctive player in the Dutch hotel market in just a few years.

Four of the six hotels BLH currently operates in Limburg (the south of The Netherlands). One of them is DoubleTree by Hilton Sittard, the first Hilton hotel below the big rivers. This hotel was brought to development during the coronavirus crisis, which could count on great appreciation from Hilton International. It led to a new collaboration in Gemert (Eindhoven), where the renovation of the thirteenth-century Gemert Castle into the very first Curio by Hilton in the Benelux is currently undergoing. Maison ELLE, a successful hotel concept previously only found in Paris, has recently opened a new location in the heart of Amsterdam named Maison ELLE Amsterdam. This new hotel offers a unique, small-scale hotel experience with a formula that has not been seen in the Netherlands before.

Hotello of the Year

Now that SCP has also acquired a significant stake in BLH with the capital strengthening, the hotel operator is ready for the next step and foreign expansion becomes possible in addition to further growth in the Netherlands. “We have been orientating ourselves abroad for some time, where we have been offered one promising hotel project after another. So, with a reliable partner like SCP on board, a new world opens for our hotel group,” said Hendricks, who last year was voted Hotello of the Year of The Netherlands by his industry colleagues because of his distinctive view of developments in the international hotel industry. “If all goes well, we will soon be able to announce our first foreign project.”

Investment for growth

SCP invests in real estate and businesses with a long-term horizon. CEO Martin Hendricks had been looking for a strategic and capital partner for BLH for some time, he reveals. “We have turned down many offers recently but are convinced that we have found the right partner with SCP. We came into contact during the acquisition of the operation of Holiday Inn Eindhoven. For SCP, the acquisition of the Holiday Inn property was a first introduction to the hotel industry. It soon turned out to click, with our orientation towards further growth coming up at a fairly early stage.”

SCP endorses BLH’s (inter)national growth strategy. “We are very pleased to support a strong and fast-growing company like BLH in its next growth phase,” says Joes Daemen, founder of SCP. “We have been very impressed by BLH’s knowledge and expertise in the European hotel market and the efficiency and customer focus with which this company operates in hotels. In a short time, BLH has proven to be a decisive organisation that can easily handle franchises with internationally leading hotel brands. BLH oversees the entire playing field. BLH has a good nose for new projects, as well as the ability to operate hotels in a contemporary way. We look forward to working with BLH and its experienced management team to support the next chapter of the successful BLH venture.”

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Martin Hendricks
Managing director Black Label Hospitality
+31(0)6-15120008
[email protected]