Vienna, 27 June 2019 – The Holiday Inn Gdansk City Centre, a prestigious project realised by UBM Development, was successfully opened on 26 June. UBM celebrated together with the operator IHG and the new owner Union Investment as well as around 150 distinguished guests, including Danzig‘s Mayor Aleksandra Dulkiewicz and the former Polish President Lech Walesa.
“LET IT FLOW“ – Under this motto, the hotel opened its doors for guests on Wednesday. The traditional opening in the form of a symbolic transfer of keys from Thomas G. Winkler, CEO of UBM Development, to General Manager Magdalena Suliga was followed by an extraordinary programme with numerous live acts, among others in the spectacular sky bar with a view across the entire city.
The Holiday Inn Gdansk City Centre was realised in a construction period of only two years: It is located on the historic Granary Island in Gdansk and characterised by unmistakable architecture which combines contemporary with history. “The Holiday Inn Gdansk is the 53rd hotel developed by UBM, and further enhances our position as the leading hotel developer in Europe“, commented Thomas G. Winkler on the opening of this successful project. UBM‘s design department was responsible for the entire interior design – the “FLOW“ motto covers the entire building from the selection of materials and colours to the furniture, lighting and fittings. UBM will also lease the hotel, which will be operated under the Holiday Inn brand by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). The Holiday Inn Gdansk City Centre, which has 240 rooms and five conference facilities, was sold to Union Investment Real Estate in the form of a forward deal one and a half years before completion.
Unique location and design “in Flow“
The location alone has the inherent potential to become an architectonic highlight in Gdansk. The hotel consists of three parts: the reconstructed grain storage facility and two modern, seven-storey buildings which are connected by a glass passageway. This combination of contemporary with history has created a unique location which will make an important contribution to the revival of this urban quarter. The hotel is not only embedded in the historical Granary Island near the old city from an architectonic standpoint, its entire interior design reflects the logic of an individual brand. “There is no second first impression. This credo is a constant for UBM Development“, explained Martin Loecker, COO of UBM Development, and added: “UBM’s hotels are in no way interchangeable – we try to highlight the soul of the property and each city in each property.“ Successful interior design pays off, it remains attractive for a longer period, is more sustainable and also substantially more space-efficient than off-the-shelf solutions.
Strong IHG Holiday Inn brand
Gdansk represents the 16th hotel project developed together with IHG. Over the years, UBM and IHG have established a strong partnership for the development of reference hotels throughout Europe. Communication, commitment and trust are the foundation for this successful cooperation. Karin Sheppard, Managing Director, IHG Europe, commented: “We are very pleased to open the Holiday Inn Gdansk City Centre. It is not only the first IHG hotel in this city, but also in the entire northern region of Poland. Through its unique location combined with the conference rooms and gastronomy offering, this hotel will have a significant influence on the growing economy in Gdansk and provide genuine hospitality for business travellers as well as vacationers. According to our motto: true hospitality for everyone.“
Strong investor demand for UBM hotel projects
The asset class “Hotel“ offers attractive returns and is enjoying increasing demand on the part of investors, as is demonstrated by the sale of this project one and a half years before completion. In the third quarter of 2019, the hotel will be transferred to the new owner Union Investment, a long-standing customer of UBM Development, which already has a number of hotels developed by UBM in its portfolio. “The northern end of the historic Granary Island is a first-class hotel location at the centre of public attention, and Holiday Inn is an IHG brand with high international recognition. With the excellent quality of its construction, the Holiday Inn Gdansk City Centre represents an excellent fit with our broadly diversified hotel portfolio“, indicated Volker Noack, member of the Management Board of Union Investment Real Estate GmbH. “The cooperation with UBM was, once again, reliable and pragmatic. We are pleased to now continue this successful teamwork over the long-term in the operational phase.“
An architectonic highlight
The area surrounding Granary Island and the element water is intended to inspire all facets of mind and body, a concept that was implemented by the architects at RKW Architektur+. “Peaceful and spacious, with exquisite simplicity. We re-interpreted the typical features of the old storage facility and reversed the normally folded angled form of the roof – cut in as vertical slits into the new block,“ explained the former Managing Partner of RKW Architektur+, Wojtek Grabianowski.
Megatrend city tourism
UBM has developed 53 hotels with more than 11,200 rooms throughout Europe since the 1990s and successfully established a leading position with its hotel expertise in a niche which is characterised by steadily growing demand. Statistics show that the number of overnight stays is rising faster than the number of beds. UBM has concentrated for years on its core expertise as a pure play real estate developer with a focus on hotels – a focus that has made UBM the largest hotel developer in Europe. No other developer offers such a wide range of services for the hotel business: UBM has its own hotel design team and, through its subsidiary UBM hotels, leases 15 hotels. Fifteen hotel projects with around 4,000 rooms are currently in the pipeline. Poland does not represent completely new ground for UBM – this real estate developer has been successfully realising hotel projects there for 25 years. Gdansk Mayor Aleksandra Dulkiewicz says: “Spectacular buildings from recent years have not only contributed to increasing Gdansk’s investment attractiveness, but have also become a recognizable flagship. The creation of facilities such as the European Solidarity Centre, the Shakespeare Theatre, the Ergo-Arena and the world’s only “Amber Stadium” has led more and more people to choose Gdansk as a business or tourist destination.”
UBM Development is the leading hotel developer in Europe. The strategic focus is on the three clearly defined asset classes hotel, residential and office as well as on the three core markets of Germany, Austria and Poland. With 145 years of experience, UBM focuses on its core competence, the development of real estate. From the planning to the marketing of the property, all services are offered from a single source. The shares of UBM are listed in the prime market segment of the Vienna Stock Exchange.
About InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG):
IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group) is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, Regent Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo®, EVEN® Hotels, HUALUXE® Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, voco™, Holiday Inn®, Holiday Inn Express®, Holiday Inn Club Vacations®, Holiday Inn Resort®, avid™ hotels, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®.
IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns more than 5,600 hotels and nearly 843,000 guest rooms in more than 100 countries, with over 1,900 hotels in its development pipeline. IHG also manages IHG® Rewards Club, our global loyalty programme, which has more than 100 million enrolled members.
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales. More than 400,000 people work across IHG’s hotels and corporate offices globally.
Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihgplc.com/media and follow us on social media at: https://twitter.com/ihgcorporate, www.facebook.com/ihgcorporate and www.linkedin.com/company/intercontinental-hotels-group.
About Union Investment Real Estate GmbH
Union Investment stands for forward-looking real estate investments throughout the world. We offer private and institutional real estate investors a comprehensive investment platform. In open-ended real estate funds and special funds as well as through service and bundling contracts, we manage an asset volume which currently amounts to approximately € 40 bn. We invest in the office, retail, hotel, logistics and residential segments and have roughly 400 properties in 23 countries in our actively managed portfolio. In Poland, Union Investment currently manages 20 commercial properties at 11 locations with a total value of approximately € 2 bn.
For additional information contact:
Jana Garbe
Corporate Communications
UBM Development AG
Tel.: +43 664 626-3596
Email: public.relations@ubm-development.com
