An Abu Dhabi fund buys the Edition Hotel

The investment company ADQ, one of the national funds of Abu Dhabi, has acquired the holdings of SÍA III, a fund under the management of Stefnir, in the Reykjavík Edition Hotel at Austurhöfn. In addition, ADQ has also purchased shares of other shareholders, which include both pension funds and private investors, but it was the holding company Mandólín hf., which owned about 70% of the shares in the hotel.

The following is reported on the website of Stefnir, but mbl.is has previously reported about ADQ’s interest in the hotel. According to Morgunbladid, discussions have been ongoing for the sale of the holding for about six months. The purchase price is not stated on the website.

Carpenter & Co., which has been a partner of Mandolin in the project, will retain its stake in the company as stated on the company’s website, Stefnir, and there will be no changes to the operations of Reykjavík Edition, which will continue to be operated by Marriott International.

Sixteen hotels under the name of Edition

The sale is also stated to be in accordance with the vision of SÍA III that the hotel would attract the interest of long-term foreign investors who see an opportunity to participate in further advancement of the local tourist industry.

The Marriott Edition opened in the fall of 2021 and is one of the most spectacular hotels in the country. Construction on the hotel took longer than originally planned and proved to be costly, partly because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Reykjavík hotel is not the first hotel to be bought by the Abu Dhabi National Trust, however, as another fund, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, has bought Marriott Edition Hotels in Florida, New York and London. The Marriott Hotels chain operates several brands under its brand name, while the Edition Hotels – along with the W-Hotels – are what can be called high-end hotels that focus on rare tourists. Only 16 hotels are operated under the Edition brand, with the opening of three more planned in the coming years.