Andrew P. Armfelt

Real estate: Andrew helps clients establish operating platforms and joint ventures between private equity funds and operating partners throughout Europe and the Far East. He serves clients with respect to acquisitions of portfolios; individual assets and groups or companies; hotel development, constructions and CAPEX works contracts; financing and refinancing acquisitions; asset based nonrecourse financing; establishing real estate investment platforms; and joint ventures. He also works for clients on dispute resolution concerning contractual arrangements and/or construction contracts.

Hotel and hospitality sector: Andrew serves investors in the main jurisdictions in the European Union as well as Africa, the Middle East, Japan, and the French overseas departments and territories. He negotiates and structures investments, including cross-border European asset portfolios. Andrew advises and represents: real estate investment funds; hotel industry specific investment funds; corporate and personal owners and investors; hotel operators as real estate owners; hotel operators as lessees or managers; and various consultants to the industry. He works for clients on documentations, including financial leases, leases and sale, and lease back transactions and industry operating agreements, such as management contracts, commercialization agreements, franchises, and consultancy agreements.

In addition to his native English, Andrew is fluent in French.

• Alpine Grove (former Grove International Partners) in the context of the sale of Florence Cerratani (MGallery by Sofitel) hotel and Hamburg Reichshof (Curio Collection by Hilton) hotel part of their hotel platform held in joint venture with Event Hospitality.
• Lone Star in the context of the sale to LFPI of Alliance Hotel Group (12 hotels in France, 3 to 4 stars, roughly 1,000 rooms).
• Adafabridge Hotel Consultancy and Damson in the context of the sale of Radisson hotel in Biarritz, France.
• Blackstone in the context of the acquisition of Alliance Hotel Group (12 hotels in France, 3 to 4 stars, roughly 1,000 rooms) from to Lone Star.
• Pearl Overseas Investments Ltd in the context of the investment in a hotel in Guinea and negotiation of the hotel management agreement with Sheraton.

Negotiated for:

• Municipality of Biarritz (Socomix) a hotel management agreement with Hyatt for Grand Hotel in Biarritz, France.
• Swiss Hospitality Partners hotel management documentation for the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Geneva.
• Reignwood Group with Four Seasons of the hotel management agreement and related contracts for a luxury mixed us (hotel and residences at Ten Trinity Square in London.
• Sofitel-Paris La Défense hotel management agreement with Accor for Algonquin Asset Management (France).
• IT Services Agreement with Amadeus for Dynamique Hotels.
• HESA of a hotel management agreement and other services agreements with Fairmont Raffles for the development of a hotel in Warsaw.
• Hotel management agreement for GLA International for a hotel in Indonesia.
• Hotel management agreement and other services agreements with Raffles Fairmont for the development of a hotel in Marrakech for Hoche Finance (Groupe Segur).

Represented:

• Almus Capital and Mount Kellett in the context of the acquisition, financing and tax structuring, and recently the sale, of the Paris luxury hotel Le Meridien Etoile (1,000 rooms +).
• Almus Capital and Mount Kellett in the context of the acquisition, financing and tax structuring and recently, sale of the Paris luxury hotel, Sofitel Le Faubourg.
• Regent Hotels & Resorts in the context of a litigation against the owner of the Regent Bordeaux Grand Hotel.

Acquisitions:

• Luxury camp sites in the France by Acapace - Sandaya (Atlantic Coast, Normandy).
• Hotels by Benson Elliott (Novotel in Edinburgh and Sophia Country Club in the South of France) and negotiation of the hotel management agreements.
• Disposals of hotels of the BRE hotel portfolio (France) owned and managed by Blackstone.
• Five Paris based Mercure hotels (Paris, France) for Westbridge.
• And financing of seven hotels (Belgium, France) by Westmont Hospitality and Baupost.
• Westmont Hospitality of 23 Holiday Inn hotels portfolio from IHG (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Austria).
• Westmont Hospitality, in partnership with Baupost, of Hotel Ambassador (Paris) and financing.
• Financing of Hotel Le Parc (Paris, France) by Westmont Hospitality and Rockpoint.
• Real estate portfolio of the Citadines apart'hotels in France, Germany, Belgium, Spain and the UK by Ascott Residence Trust (Singapore REIT).
• Acapace and Parfires of Hotel Paradou, near Marseille.

Sales:

• Whitehall (Goldman Sachs) and Westmont Hospitality of the Alliance Group (France, Belgium and Italy) to Blackstone.
• Whitehall Funds and Westmont Hospitality of Alliance Hôtellerie Group to Blackstone (France, Belgium and Italy).
• Front part of the building located at 59 avenue Raymond Poincaré (Paris) by Westmont Hospitality and Rockpoint.
• Westmont Hospitality of Mercure La Defense Hotel (France) to Adagio.
• Development of the Four Seasons' hotel project in Bora-Bora (French-Polynesia).
• Lancaster Hotel (Paris, France).
• Whitehall Funds of Hotel Montalembert and Hotel Bel Ami (Paris, France).

• “Mayer Brown est doté d’une solide expertise dans le secteur hôtelier et a récemment conseillé Almus Capital lors de la cession du Sofitel Le Faubourg à Paris. Andrew Armfelt est recommandé. Agissant également auprès des banques dans des opérations de financement immobilier, le cabinet fournit ‘un travail de remarquable qualité: les clients se sentent en confiance d’avoir l’équipe à leurs côtés dans les négociations’. Privat Vigand est un ‘négociateur talentueux’ qui ‘garde toujours à l’esprit les intérêts de ses clients’.” - Legal 500 Paris
• Ranked for his “well-known practice “in lease law and “solid reputation” in real estate transactions by Décideurs Magazine.
• "Andrew Armfelt, qui dirige l’activité, a une réelle connaissance de l’industrie hôtelière et fait preuve d’un souci permanent d’arriver à un accord entre les parties en apportant des solutions." - Legal 500: Paris
• “Andrew Armfelt of Mayer Brown LLP is a seasoned real estate lawyer best known for advising investors and operators on hotel deals. He acted for Almus Capital and Mount Kellett on its EUR265 million acquisition of the luxury Le Meridien hotel in Paris.” - Chambers Europe
• "Dirigée par Andrew Armfelt, l’excellente équipe de Mayer Brown assiste de grands investisseurs internationaux et des établissements bancaires dont Grove International, CBRE et BNP Paribas." - Legal 500: Paris