Dallas-Based Investment Firms Form Hotel Venture

Downtown Dallas

Dallas-based hotel investment venture, GVM Hotel Partners (GVM), today announced the acquisition of five TownePlace Suites by Marriott, at a purchase price of $30 million. Four of the hotels are located in Texas markets (Austin, College Station and Houston) with the fifth in Birmingham, Alabama. GVM Hotel Partners is a joint venture among affiliates of Gatehouse Capital, Varro Hospitality and the Muse Family Office.

"This acquisition falls directly in line with the stated goals of our venture -- to purchase assets built in the last ten years in solid Texas growth markets at a discount to their current replacement and by changes in management and/or additional capital investment, produce good year one yields," said Marty Collins, of Gatehouse Capital. "We are hopeful this is the first of many deals, as we feel there is particular opportunity in the major growth markets of Texas within this segment of the hospitality industry."

This is the first acquisition by GVM, which was formed to acquire and manage a portfolio of financially distressed select-service, limited-service, and extended-stay premium-branded hotels. The venture builds on broad depths of experience in the investment, real estate and hospitality markets, while marking its initial entry into this particular segment of the hotel market.

"With the hospitality markets showing quicker rebounds in recessionary periods than most other classes of commercial real estate, we are excited about our growth possibilities and look forward to generating positive cash-flow for our investors," said Jeremy Robinson of Varro Hospitality.

Gatehouse Capital is an investor and provides specific investment strategies and oversight for this portfolio and the GVM venture. Gatehouse has developed a $1 billion portfolio of hotels including the W Hotels of Hollywood, Silicon Valley, San Diego and Dallas, as well as The Joule Hotel in Dallas, Hyatt Regency Resort and Marina in Mission Beach and Aloft Jacksonville Tapestry Park.

Varro Hospitality, a co-equity investor in the venture with their Opportunity Fund I, is a privately-held hotel investment company whose principals have broad experience in real estate and investments. Varro provides the underwriting, due diligence, asset management, re-development, administration and reporting for the GVM venture.

John Muse is the single largest investor and brings more than 30-years investment experience to the venture through his experience as co-founder and chairman of HM Capital.

The partners engaged Texas Western Management to operate these Marriott branded hotels, among others owned by Texas Western Hospitality and third parties.

"This portfolio of quality Marriott properties, in attractive markets at well below replacement cost, represents a compelling investment opportunity. We hope to drive growth in performance by having Texas Western manage these assets," said John Muse of the Muse Family Office.