El Corte Inglés sells 50% share in Only You hotel chain

El Corte Inglés has sold its 50% stake in Only You Hotels to Palladium Hotel Group – owned by the Matutes family – which has held an equal stake since 2006.

The transaction was closed on 28 July, leaving Palladium as the sole shareholder of the hotel company, which owns five establishments in Spain, two in Madrid, one in Malaga, one in Valencia and one in Seville that is scheduled to open in 2024.

Palladium told Europa Press that the hotel company's intention is to "continue with the growth and internationalisation of the brand".

"Only You is a brand owned by Palladium Hotel Group, which will continue to grow with assets within the Matutes Group of Companies and with third-party assets through management contracts," Palladium said.

The exit from Only You came a few months after El Corte Inglés and Palladium announced a strategy to boost the hotel brand in order to "strengthen its position in the high value-added hotel segment through the development of new establishments in the chain".

The move came after both companies analysed "various options in prime locations in Spanish cities as well as in other countries to increase their presence in the 'premium lifestyle' hotel segment".

Only You's first international hotels will be in Venice, with an urban hotel that will open its doors in 2025, and in the United States, with the new 45 Times Square Hotel, belonging to the Rosp Corunna group.

In addition, at the beginning of 2022, both companies sold five hotels of its Ayre Hoteles brand to the company Eurazeo. Totalling nearly 800 rooms, these establishments are located in Barcelona, Madrid, Cordoba and Oviedo, as well as a plot of land in Porto in Portugal.