Nordic Choice Hospitality Group has acquired Kämp Collection Hotels, the leading luxury and lifestyle hotel group in Finland, from CapMan Buyout funds and other owners. The most famous hotel in the group internationally is the legendary Hotel Kämp, established in 1887. Nordic Choice Hospitality Group is one of the leading hotel companies in the Nordic countries, known in Finland for its Clarion Hotels and the Nordic Hotels & Resorts portfolio consisting of independent hotel brands.
Laura Tarkka, CEO of Kämp Collection Hotels, is proud of the position Kämp Collection Hotels has accomplished in the Finnish hotel market. “The Year 2018 was the fourth consecutive year of growth for Kämp Collection Hotels and during 2019 we’ve seen an even stronger increase in our business. Our employees are our core – our heart & soul and they’ve played the most crucial role in creating us such a loyal customer base, both locally and internationally. The value of Helsinki metropolitan hotel market increased by 9 percentage points in January-June 2019. Now, with the new owner, we are all looking forward to providing our current and future guests with even more enjoyable experience in all of our hotels,” says Tarkka.
Employees of Kämp Collection Hotels will continue in their current positions. The deal is awaiting approval from the competition authorities.
Based on travel and tourism statistics, Helsinki hotel market has continued to grow and Kämp Collection Hotels has taken a forerunner position in the Helsinki travel industry. Kämp Collection Hotels’ share of the growth of the travel market value during January-June 2019 was more than 25 percent.
The new owner, Nordic Choice Hospitality Group, has been nominated the best hotel chain in the Nordic region for 3 years in a row, as well as the best hotel chain in Norway for 9 consecutive years in Grand Hotel Awards. Nordic Choice Hospitality Group includes 195 hotels in 6 countries: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and the Baltic countries. The chain employs 16 500 people and its annual turnover is approx. 1 billion euros. Nordic Choice Hospitality Group has more than 1,3 million active loyal customers.
“Both Finland and Helsinki have become very lucrative travel destinations, and we’ve seen consistent growth in the local travel industry. Being a Nordic player with great growth potential we feel that Nordic Choice Hospitality Group is a great fit to be the new owner of Kämp Collection Hotels. Our values are very similar and the guests and employees are at the heart of the operations for both of us. We can ensure that the quality of operations will keep rising even higher, and we can develop and expand operations of the hotels even further,” says Petter A. Stordalen, the founder of Nordic Choice Hospitality Group.
“We are proud of the accomplishments of the entire Kämp Collection Hotels team, which we have had the pleasure to work with since our investment in 2014. We have since nearly tripled the turnover of the company, adding many iconic hotels to the portfolio,” says Pia Kåll, Managing Partner of CapMan Buyout.
“We are super happy to welcome Petter Stordalen and Nordic Choice Hospitality Group as the new owner of Kämp Collection Hotels”, says Ari Tolppanen, long-time Chairman of Kämp Collection Hotels. “It is with great pleasure that we hand over the future growth and development of KCH to Choice. Having become well-acquainted with Petter and his team during the process, I can’t think of any better owner to carry forward the historical and cultural heritage vested in Hotel Kämp.”
Nordic Choice Hospitality Group consists of three hotel chains which include the Clarion Hotels – which started operations in Finland in 2016 – as well as the Quality Hotels, the urban Comfort Hotels, and over 20 independent hotels such as The Thief and At Six.
Kämp Collection Hotels includes many of the most famous hotels and restaurants in Helsinki. There are 10 hotels with 1 406 hotel rooms in the group as well as 17 restaurants & bars and two spas. The eleventh hotel, a tower hotel in Keilaniemenranta in Espoo, will open in 2023. The other hotels belonging to the Kämp Collection Hotels are Hotel Kämp, Hotel St. George, Klaus K Hotel, Hotel Haven, Hotel Lilla Roberts, Hotel Fabian, and four GLO hotels. The owners of Kämp Collection Hotels are funds managed by CapMan, Berling Capital Oy, Rake Oy and current executives of Kämp Collection Hotels. During CapMan’s ownership, KCH’s turnover has nearly tripled, now reaching over 90 million euros annually.
The transaction is the fifth exit from the 2013 CapMan Buyout X fund, which has developed well overall. CapMan Buyout is the largest mid-market private equity team in the Nordic region, with 11 investment professionals in Finland and Sweden and 30 years of industry experience. CapMan Buyout has made a total of more than 80 investments and more than 70 exits since 1989 and it is actively looking for suitable investments for its eleventh fund, which held a first close at €160 million in June 2019.