Our approach > Case studies > B&B Hotels

Expanding the horizons of B&B Hotels

100%

EBITDA growth

140

New hotels

New countries

Overview

Key facts

Sector

Food & Consumer

Headquarters

France

Investment date

March 2016

Ownership

100%

Exit date

July 2019

Learn More

PAI agreed to acquire B&B Hotels in December 2015 and completed the transaction in March 2016.

Under PAI’s ownership, the group evolved from a strong local player into an integrated, pan-European hotel platform.

B&B delivered exceptional performance over the three-year holding period, becoming the fastest-growing hotel chain in Europe during that time. Combined with strong sector momentum, this generated significant interest from both strategic and private equity buyers, leading to the sale of the business to Goldman Sachs in July 2019.

Leveraging our sector expertise and international presence

PAI’s decision to acquire B&B was underpinned by the strength of its management team, its clear leadership positions in France, Germany and Italy, its highly efficient and flexible business model, and the significant potential for room roll-out and international expansion within an attractive hospitality market.

PAI’s experience in supporting international expansion, leveraging its local presence across Europe and deep understanding of the consumer and hospitality sectors, positioned the Firm as a strong partner to support B&B and its management team in the next phase of growth.

Our partnership with B&B Hotels

Transforming B&B

Under PAI’s ownership, B&B Hotels expanded into new countries, implemented an extensive roll-out programme and invested significantly in strengthening its operations, alongside refurbishing existing hotels.

International expansion

The group expanded into six new countries: Austria, Belgium, Portugal, Slovenia and Switzerland in Europe, as well as Brazil, marking its first expansion outside Europe. It also completed three add-on acquisitions, including two in Spain (Sidorme and H2 Hotels) and a portfolio of nine hotels in Germany.

International add-ons

Accelerated roll-out

B&B opened 140 new hotels during PAI’s ownership, averaging one opening per week. The development pipeline increased from around 20 openings per year prior to acquisition to around 50 per year at exit. More than 105 new projects were approved in 2018 alone, demonstrating the solid momentum across the B&B network ahead of exit.

Openings per annum

Strengthening of operations

In addition to a significant refurbishment programme – including 160 hotels in France during the final two years of ownership – central operations were strengthened and the group’s IT systems were fully overhauled.

By the time of exit in July 2019, B&B operated a network of 496 budget hotels, representing 43,692 rooms across 12 countries and around 1,000 employees, up from around 650 at entry.

160

Refurbished hotels in France