Legal & General buys Clerkenwell Yotel for £70m

Pension fund Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has bought London’s Clerkenwell Yotel from a private seller for approximately £70m.

The 212-bedroom hotel opened in July 2020 and is the brand’s London flagship. The hotel will continue to be operated by Yotel under a 20-year hotel management agreement.

LGIM said it was the first time a pension fund has acquired a London hotel operated under a hotel management agreement as regulatory issues around the ownership of operational businesses have stymied pension funds’ move into the sector.

Constantine Real Estate sourced and negotiated the deal on behalf of LGIM, with advice and hotel management agreement review provided by Gerald Eve’s hotel advisory team. Knight Frank acted on behalf of the vendor.

Will Kirkpatrick, head of hotels at Gerald Eve, said: “This acquisition represents something of a breakthrough for pension funds, which until now have found themselves unable to capitalise on the opportunity presented by owning hotels operated under a management agreement. But this acquisition is indicative of the greater levels of return and liquidity that can be achieved in this sub-sector, and paves the way for similar approaches from other established institutional funds.

“London remains one of the top three cities for hotels in the world. For LGIM, this is an excellent acquisition at a time when London’s hotel sector is primed for future growth as increasing numbers of visitors return to the capital. The upside potential to LGIM of a hotel management agreement only strengthens the case for an acquisition such as this and leaves the fund well-placed to take advantage of the coming recovery.”