Press Release 29 January 2014 at 08.45 a.m
CapMan invests in Kämp Group – the leading luxury and lifestyle hotel chain in Finland
Funds managed by CapMan have made an agreement to acquire a majority holding in Kämp Group, a Finnish hotel chain known for the distinguished Hotel Kämp, located in the Helsinki city centre and the modern lifestyle hotel chain GLO Hotels. The objective of the transaction is to expand the group’s operations and further strengthen its position as the leading luxury and lifestyle hotel chain in Finland.
Hotel Kämp and GLO Hotels are market leaders in their own segments in Finland. Established in 1887, the internationally renowned Hotel Kämp is today a five-star luxury hotel with a unique market position in Finland, and an important landmark in the Helsinki city centre. GLO Hotels in turn is the only lifestyle hotel chain in the country, with four popular hotels located in the centre of Helsinki, at the Helsinki Airport and in the Sello shopping centre in Espoo. In addition to hotels, Kämp Group includes four restaurants and Kämp Spa. The Group employs around 400 people and its targeted turnover for 2014 is around EUR 45 million.
“The outlook for hotel business is excellent in the Helsinki metropolitan region, as both business and leisure travel are on the rise. We plan to increase the number of hotels and focus on international sales, high service standards and top quality. The current owner of the Kämp Group, Berling Capital Oy – co-owned by Esa Karppinen, his wife and three children – will remain an important minority owner of the Group. We are happy about the opportunity to further develop this legendary institution in Helsinki,” says Ari Tolppanen, Senior Partner at CapMan Buyout, responsible for the investment.
“We are very glad that this hotel group built with true appreciation for its history will gain more operational scale through this transaction. Great staff and our own strong hotel brands Kämp and GLO provide an excellent platform for successful operations in the future,” adds Esa Karppinen, Chairman of the Board at Berling Capital Oy.
The number of overnight stays in Helsinki is expected to increase in the coming years. Especially the number of tourists arriving from Russia and Asia has increased steadily during the past ten years, and this growth is expected to continue in the future thanks to increased connecting flights to Asia from the Helsinki Airport, the fast train connection from St. Petersburg, and Helsinki’s growing role as the most important business centre in Finland. The turnover of the hotel industry in Helsinki exceeded EUR 200 million in 2012 and the occupancy rate of hotel rooms was 69%.
“Travel and leisure are our focus areas. The strong market fundamentals combined with Kämp Group’s leading position in the attractive luxury and upscale segment in the Helsinki region provide us with numerous development opportunities and avenues of growth going forward,” adds Sebastian Schauman, Investment Director at CapMan Buyout.
Further information:
Ari Tolppanen, Senior Partner, CapMan Buyout, tel. +358 50 0407343
Esa Karppinen, Chairman of the Board, Berling Capital Oy, tel. +358 50 2089
Press conference:
Kämp Group and CapMan will host a joint press conference today, 29 January 2014, starting at 11 a.m. at Hotel Kämp (Mirror Room), Kluuvikatu 2, Helsinki. Ari Tolppanen, Senior Partner at CapMan and Esa Karppinen, Chairman of the Board at Berling Capital Oy will attend the conference. Coffee will be served. The press conference will be held in Finnish. Welcome!
CapMan www.capman.com
CapMan Buyout is the largest mid-market private equity team in the Nordic region, with 20 investment professionals in Finland, Norway and Sweden and 24 years of experience. The team has made a total of 75 investments and 55 exits and its tenth fund CapMan Buyout X is currently in active investment phase.
CapMan Buyout is part of CapMan Group, a leading private equity firm in the Nordic countries and Russia, with assets under management of EUR 3.2 billion. CapMan has five key investment partnerships – CapMan Buyout, CapMan Russia, CapMan Credit, CapMan Public Market and CapMan Real Estate – each of which has its own dedicated investment team and funds. Altogether, CapMan employs 105 people in Helsinki, Stockholm, Oslo, Moscow and Luxembourg.
Kämp Group www.kampgroup.fi, www.hotelkamp.fi, www.hotelglo.fi, www.kampspa.fi
Kämp Group Ltd is a Finnish hotel group, which includes a number of the most renowned hotels and restaurants in Helsinki and Kämp Spa. The Group employs around 400 people and its target turnover for 2014 is EUR 45 million. The Group’s internationally most famous hotel is in 1887 grounded legendary Hotel Kämp and the Group also includes a popular lifestyle hotel chain GLO Hotels. Kämp Group is part of Berling Capital Oy.
