Market imbalance: strong demand, limited supply renewal
As MIPIM in Cannes and IHIF in Berlin bring together global real estate and hospitality investors this March, a clear window of opportunity is emerging for institutional hospitality assets in France.
A discreet but structural shift is underway: international capital is actively repositioning European hospitality — and the French market in particular — within their sector allocations.
The convergence is striking.
Target profile
- Midscale to upscale segment
- Urban locations or economically dynamic secondary cities
- Proven operational performance or a clear repositioning story
- Institutional-scale assets aligned with €40–50m+ investment mandates across Core, Core+ and Value-Add strategies
Why the renewed interest?
This segment offers a rare combination:
– institutional scale without portfolio complexity
– stronger liquidity than trophy assets
– tangible operational and value-creation levers
– a risk/return profile matching current capital requirements
The current imbalance
Demand is accelerating.
The pipeline of genuinely qualified opportunities remains limited.
Most benchmark transactions do not come to market through open processes.
They originate from targeted, confidential discussions — a format increasingly preferred by both sophisticated sellers and institutional buyers.
What investors are focusing on
- Transparent operating performance
- Clearly identified value-creation drivers (capex, branding, management optimisation)
- Strong local market fundamentals
- Above all: the ability to engage early, discreetly and outside standardised sale processes
The timing
MIPIM and IHIF will accelerate conversations.
However, experience shows that the most successful transactions are prepared upstream — often months in advance, through informal and strictly confidential exchanges.
For owners considering a medium-term strategy — portfolio rebalancing, capital recycling or repositioning — an exploratory discussion, conducted discreetly and without commitment, can provide valuable market perspective.
The real scarcity today
It is not capital that is lacking.
It is assets combining quality, timing and strategic alignment.
In the current cycle, access to the right buyers is less a question of marketing — and more a question of positioning.
#HospitalityInvestment #HotelRealEstate #InstitutionalCapital #OffMarket
