Accor continued its focus on lifestyle brands Tuesday with plans to join forces with Ennismore, the owner of Hoxton Hotels.

The two hotel brands’ resulting lifestyle entity, which will be called Ennismore, will be headquartered in London and jointly led by Gaurav Bhushan — CEO of Accor’s lifestyle division — and Ennismore CEO Sharan Pasricha. The 73 hotels making up the combined company include brands like Hoxton, Gleneagles, SLS, Delano, and Mondrian. The entity will be two-thirds owned by Accor and a third by Pasricha.

“This exciting autonomous entity with Accor — one with culture and brand purpose at its heart — allows us to come together to build on our combined portfolio of unique lifestyle brands, accelerate our growth and explore new markets,” Bhushan said in a statement. “I look forward to working with Gaurav and [Accor CEO] Sébastien [Bazin] on this exciting next chapter as we become an unrivaled player in the hospitality industry.” 

The new Ennismore entity will comprise 12 brands and a development pipeline of 110 hotels with an additional 70 under discussion. More than 150 restaurants and bars are also part of the merger.

“Joining forces with Sharan and Ennismore’s talented teams will be a major step in Accor’s development strategy,” Bhushan said in a statement. “With this combination, we are putting together an unrivaled portfolio of unique brands that appeals to owners, partners and guests, supported by the greatest set of talents in the industry, state of the art distribution and tools and a common ambition to continue to grow and innovate. I very much look forward to our journey together.”

What’s more, Paris-based Accor intends to take on full ownership of the SBE brand in a $300 million investment in order to make the Ennismore deal possible. Accor took on half ownership of SBE — owner of brands like SLS, Delano, and Mondrian — in a 2018 deal valued at $319 million. Tuesday’s announcement comes after Accor announced in September plans to launch an independent division for its lifestyle brands.

Bazin has repeatedly touted lifestyle brands as a key source of growth for Accor in coming years, but navigating the space required more autonomy.

“There are a lot of outside partners knocking on Accor’s doors trying to partner with their own similar brands,” Accor CEO Sebastien Bazin said of the new lifestyle division in September at Skift Global Forum. “But they would only do so if they’re welcomed into dedicated business unit rather than under the large Accor umbrella.”

Source: https://skift.com/2020/11/24/accor-joins-forces-with-hoxton-hotels-owner-to-form-lifestyle-brand-giant/