Rocco Forte Hotels has signed a hotel in Dubai and is eyeing expansion opportunities in Spain, the United States and the Middle East, following an injection of funds from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Speaking at the IHIF EMEA conference in Berlin on Wednesday, Sir Rocco Forte confirmed the group had Spain on its radar, as well as popular destinations in the United States.
“40 per cent of our business comes out of the United States, it makes sense for us to use that customer base,” he told Andreas Ewald, managing partner at Engel & Völkers Hotel Consulting. Sir Rocco named destinations such as New York, Los Angeles, Beverley Hills,and Miami as being on his list, “but it’s expensive to get in there."
He also confirmed the group had already signed a property in Dubai, and was looking at Marrakech as well as Saudi Arabia, with plans for “two or three” hotels there ideally.
PIF bought a 49 percent stake in the luxury hotel group last year. As part of the deal – which valued Rocco Forte’s 14 hotels at £1.2 billion – Italian sovereign wealth fund CDP Equity sold its entire 23 percent stake. Sir Rocco remains executive chair of the company, alongside his sister Olga Polizzi as deputy chair.
“They’re very good people to deal with, very professional and straightforward,” said Sir Rocco. “They have a very long-term view; you present your plans and then, as long as you keep to them, they’re happy to let you get on with it. I visited Saudi Arabia recently. To look at what’s going on there and if anybody hasn’t done it, they should, because it’s quite mind boggling what’s happened there, the ambition of the projects.”
PIF’s investment is set to accelerate the group’s expansion in both existing and new global markets, with plans to double the size of the Rocco Forte hotel portfolio over the next five years. This includes plans to open three new hotels this year and next, including The Carlton Hotel in Milan. The group has already signed a management agreement with fashion company Capri Group, with whom it is set to launch its first hotel, Palazzo Sirignano, in Naples in 2027.
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