PPF ACQUIRES HILTON PRAGUE, THE LARGEST HOTEL IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

The PPF group, owned by Renáta Kellnerová and her family, has recently acquired Quinn Hotels Prague, owner of the Hilton Prague, the largest hotel in the Czech Republic. This transaction represents the most significant sale of a single hotel property in Central and Eastern Europe, according to brokerage firm CBRE.

The PPF group

The PPF group is one of the most important economic entities in the Czech Republic and operates on a global scale. It was born in 1991 thanks to the entrepreneur Petr Kellner, who over time transformed it into a real financial empire, active in sectors such as finance, telecommunications, real estate, media and biotechnology. After Kellner’s death in 2021, the leadership of the group passed to his wife Renáta Kellnerová and his family.

Over the years, PPF has expanded its influence, managing a wealth of more than €44 billion and employing some 47,000 people worldwide. Its activities range from banking and insurance services to telephony infrastructure, real estate and technology investments.

Hilton Prague and the change of ownership

The Hilton Prague, completed in 1991 and originally known as the Atrium Hotel, has 11 floors and 791 rooms. Over the years, it has hosted numerous dignitaries, including US presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, as well as celebrities from the world of film and music. The hotel’s conference area offers approximately 5,000 square meters of space for events and conferences.

Prior to the acquisition by PPF, the hotel was owned by Quinn Hotels, a company based in Ireland. In 2004, Quinn Group Hotels bought the Hilton Prague and the adjacent Ibis hotel for €145 million. Subsequently, in 2019, the liquidators of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) took control of Quinn Group Hotels after a series of legal battles. In January 2025, the Hilton Prague was sold to PPF Group for nearly €280 million, as reported by The Times.

Europe’s growing hotel industry

In recent years, the European hotel industry has seen a surge of large real estate investments, and PPF’s acquisition of Hilton Prague fits perfectly into this trend. After the slowdown due to the pandemic, tourism has again grown significantly, especially in the most popular destinations for business trips and holidays. This has made hotels a very attractive asset for investors, who see the sector as a profitable opportunity.

An example of this dynamic is Blackstone, one of the largest real estate investment funds in the world, which has invested over 500 million euros in hotels in southern Europe in the last year. Blackstone has focused on destinations such as Spain, Italy and Greece, where the demand for tourism is growing strongly and high-end hotels are increasing their value.

There have also been major operations in other parts of Europe: in Scotland, for example, the value of commercial real estate transactions exceeded £2 billion in 2024, thanks in part to hotel sales in Edinburgh, an increasingly attractive city for international tourism.

The acquisition of Hilton Prague by PPF fits in this context: investing in large hotels in strategic cities is a targeted move to exploit the recovery of the tourism and conference sector. Facilities such as the Hilton Prague, with a large accommodation capacity and spaces for corporate events, are particularly attractive because they can generate stable revenue from both traditional tourism and business travel.

In conclusion, the acquisition of Hilton Prague by the PPF group confirms its strategy of expansion in the real estate and hotel sector, taking advantage of the recovery of tourism and business travel. In an increasingly attractive market for investors, this investment strengthens PPF’s position as one of the main players in Central and Eastern Europe.

Sources: https://www.ceskenoviny.cz/ , https://www.thetimes.com/