Chartres Lodging Group of San Francisco Honored with Turnaround Atlas Award for Adam’s Mark Hotel Portfolio Deal

Edited: Jennifer Brenner
Source: Chartres Lodging Group

The Chartres Lodging Group, LLC, of San Francisco continues to get honored within the real estate and financial industries for its 2008 acquisition and ongoing repositioning of the five-property Adam’s Mark hotel portfolio – this time with a prestigious Turnaround Atlas Award presented by the Global M&A Network during ceremonies in Chicago.

Specifically, Chartres received Global M&A Network’s “Real Estate, Lodging and Services Turnaround of the Year” Turnaround Atlas Award for the complicated, high-profile transaction, which was also recognized as a Major Industry Award finalist in the “Special Situation M&A Deal of the Year” (above $100 million) and “Turnaround Atlas Award of the Year” (above $500 million) categories.

Chartres Lodging Group Partner Bruce Blum served as a speaker at the Global M&A Network’s Distressed M&A Summit, held in conjunction with the June 23 awards.

Acting with majority equity stakeholder Goldman Sachs’ Whitehall Street Global Real Estate Fund, Chartres Lodging acquired the five remaining Adam’s Mark hotels in Dallas, Denver, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Buffalo from HBE Corp., of St. Louis, totaling more than 5,000 rooms, and is currently completing more than $220 million to renovate and reposition the properties. The plan includes rebranding partnerships with Sheraton in Dallas and Denver, and with Hyatt Regency in St. Louis.

“We are extremely honored to be recognized for our team’s efforts in repositioning this portfolio of supertanker convention hotels,” said Rob Kline, Chartres Lodging co-partner and founder. “While this is certainly a difficult operating environment, the recession will end and our all-in investment basis will be less than 50 percent of the replacement cost.”

Says Maki Bara, the other Chartres Lodging co-founder and partner: “Investing $220 million in the renovation of these properties at this time may appear to be a bold decision. However, we have been able to achieve pricing that is 10 to 20 percent below expectations. And, upon renovation completion this year, the properties will be positioned as new, exciting places to meet, and right-priced as companies emerge from the recessionary environment.”

Part of the Global M&A Atlas Awards global brand, the Turnaround Atlas Awards honor outstanding leaders, professionals, deals and firms from the distressed, special-situation M&A and turnaround communities. This year’s winners circle included 26 companies in 34 award categories.

Presented by FOX Business News anchor Jeff Flock at the Hotel Allegro Chicago, the Turnaround Atlas Awards represent the third major industry award for Chartres Lodging’s Adam’s Mark portfolio acquisition. Earlier this year, the transaction received “Distressed Deal of the Year” honors at the M&A Advisor 3rd Annual Turnaround Awards and a prestigious 2008 “Deal of the Year” designation by Real Estate Forum magazine.