Euro zone takes the lead in hotel deals
The value of hotel deals struck last year in countries that have adopted the euro exceeded the volume of deals struck elsewhere in Europe, according to deal broker Insignia Hotel Partners.
Director Chris Rouse said this was the first time transactions in the so-called euro zone had exceeded the combined amount in the UK and other non-euro zone countries.
The value of hotels bought and sold in the euro zone last year reached €3b (£1.8b).
This was a jump of almost one-third on 1999's €2.1b (£1.3b), itself a 50% increase on the 1998 figure of €1.4b (£900m). By comparison, the UK experienced a five-year low followed by a rush of hotel deals in 1999 totalling €4.5b (£2.8b).
This fell back to a €1.75b (£1.1b) last year, partly reflecting the shortage of hotels for sale in London.
Other non-euro zone countries, such as those in Eastern Europe and parts of Scandinavia, notched up a 100% increase in the value of deals last year.
The total value of their deals reached a1b (£600m), representing about 30% of the non-euro zone total.
By Sara Macefield