Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC, has expanded its stake in Southern Europe’s hotel landscape by backing a major move in Spain. The deal places high emphasis on HIP, the hotel investment platform, as GIC acquires 35 percent of HIP while keeping 65 percent under its control. The acquisition follows HIP’s growth under prior ownership, including a 2017 purchase from Banco Sabadell for 630 million euros and subsequent value creation led by Blackstone, which invested a further 600 million euros to reposition and upgrade the portfolio. The platform now includes 73 hotels, with 59 located in Spain, totaling 21,831 rooms. The majority of these properties are beachfront assets, concentrated in the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands, and operated by leading global operators such as Ritz-Carlton, Barceló, Meliá, Hyatt, Hilton, Ledra, and Marriott.
The deal reportedly values HIP at around 4 billion euros, with GIC expected to pay close to 1.4 billion euros as part of the transaction. A Blackstone memo highlights this alliance with GIC, along with its majority stake in Blackstone, as a strong vote of confidence in HIP’s business and the broader European hotel sector. The memo notes that the partnership strengthens HIP’s ability to execute its ongoing transformation strategy and to capitalize on opportunities across the European tourism market. It also forecasts revenues for the current year to be about 20 percent higher than the previous year’s figure.
According to HIP founder and CEO Alejandro Hernández-Puértolas, the collaboration with GIC complements Blackstone’s majority stake and reinforces HIP’s growth trajectory across Southern Europe. He says the alliance broadens the investor base with global capital and positions HIP to accelerate its strategic plan in hospitality, capitalizing on the robust fundamentals of the Mediterranean hotel market and the continued recovery in traveler demand.
Lee Kok Sun, a director of real estate investments at GIC, commented on the partnership with Blackstone and the trust placed in HIP as one of the most established hotel platforms in Mediterranean Europe. He expressed eagerness to work with Blackstone and HIP’s management team as they advance asset development and curate high-quality holiday experiences in the region, aiming to capture both international and domestic demand for Mediterranean destinations.
Singapore’s GIC investments in Spain
GIC has been steadily directing capital toward Spain across a wide range of asset classes in recent years. In hospitality, the fund has interests in five-star properties, including Palace and Edition-branded hotels, through Archer Hotel Capital, a vehicle that aligns with Dutch pension fund APG. The broad investment footprint also extends to logistics through P3 Logistics Parks, a platform with nearly 300 European warehouses, with 22 located in Spain.
In the office segment, GIC is involved in a joint venture with the Montoro Alemán family, holding approximately a one-third stake. This aligns with its position in GMPA, a publicly traded real estate company that owns around 25 properties valued at roughly €2.284 billion by the end of 2022. Beyond traditional sectors, GIC announced a strategic alliance with Spanish manager Azora in early 2023, committing 1.5 billion euros to build a platform of 8,000 rental homes. This venture, branded Brisa, is actively acquiring land to develop new projects and expand its housing footprint in Spain.
GIC’s Spanish portfolio reflects a concerted strategy to diversify across hospitality, logistics, office, and residential sectors, leveraging its global capital to optimize operating performance and value creation for stakeholders. The firm’s approach emphasizes sustainable growth, asset diversification, and the ability to scale successful platforms across multiple European markets, while aligning with the region’s improving tourism trends and urban development goals. Market observers note that a combination of strong demand for quality hotel experiences, favorable occupancy rates, and a steady pipeline of new projects supports the continued expansion of GIC’s Spanish investments, particularly in prime tourist locations and logistics hubs that serve both domestic and international markets.