Taylor Wessing has advised YOTEL - the luxury hotel chain dedicated to the delivery of smart spaces - on its $250 million strategic partnership with Starwood Capital Group, a leading global private investment firm.

Starwood’s investment in, and ongoing partnership with, YOTEL includes:

    the acquisition of a 30 percent stake in the company
    expanding YOTEL’s international scale with real estate acquisitions for new builds, hotel conversions and adaptive reuse properties
    increasing YOTEL’s rapid worldwide expansion, with a specific focus on Europe, North America and Asia
    strengthening its brand identity.

Hubert Viriot, CEO of YOTEL commented: “YOTEL is growing rapidly with 15 hotels currently at various stages of development. We look forward to leveraging Starwood’s investment, design, operational and technological expertise to expand our platform, attract talent and enter additional markets whilst continuing to work closely with our existing partners and fostering new relationships as we take our brand to the next level.”

The Taylor Wessing hotels team was led by partner Richard Bursby, and supported by senior associate Natasha Cooper and senior counsel Edward Story.

Commenting on the transaction, Richard said: “It was fantastic to work with the YOTEL team in this strategic partnership which secures an exciting future for our client. We very much look forward to seeing YOTEL go from strength to strength.”

The hotels group at Taylor Wessing is ranked number 1 by Legal 500 for its work in the hotels sector and has a wealth of experience in advising on hotel, restaurant and hospitality projects around the world. Its highly experienced international team of lawyers work from offices in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and have a deep understanding of the hotel and leisure industry, its markets, brands and participants.