Two new hotels in Casablanca and planned upgrades to resorts in Marrakech and Agadir are at the centre of a $250m (£191m) financing deal secured by Egyptian hotel group Pickalbatros Hotels & Resorts. The funding comes from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, and Attijariwafa bank, the largest bank in Morocco. The deal is the largest hotel financing transaction backed by the IFC in the country.
The money will help fund the group’s acquisitions of Sofitel Casablanca Tour Blanche and Mövenpick Hotel Casablanca. It will also pay for environmental improvements and modernisation at its existing properties in Marrakech and Agadir, while allowing the group to repay existing debt over a longer period.
The financing is structured in three parts, uses two currencies and is linked to environmental performance targets. Pickalbatros now operates nine properties in Morocco, with more than 2,700 rooms.
Law firm ADNA advised Pickalbatros on the financing, while Clifford Chance advised the lenders, the IFC and Attijariwafa bank.
MENA investment bank Zilla Capital advised the group exclusively on the transaction. The deal also marks the firm’s official entry into the Moroccan financial services market.
“We are particularly proud of the role played by Zilla Capital as exclusive financial advisor in this $250 million transaction, the largest hotel financing transaction supported by IFC in Morocco to date,” said Moustafa El-Shenety, co-founder and co-chief executive of Zilla Capital.
He said the deal showed the firm’s ability to arrange large, complex cross-border financing by bringing together international development finance institutions and leading local banks.
El-Shenety added that the transaction reflected the confidence of international and Moroccan financial partners in Pickalbatros’s expansion plans and the outlook for the hotel sector.
Khaled Gamal, Zilla Capital’s other co-founder and co-chief executive, said the deal marked a major step in establishing the investment bank in Morocco.
“This transaction marks a major milestone in the investment bank’s establishment in the Moroccan market and formalises the launch of its activities in one of the region’s most dynamic economies,” he said.
“Zilla Capital intends to capitalise on this first transaction to develop its activities in Morocco, particularly in mergers and acquisitions, equity capital markets, and debt capital markets,” Gamal added.
Two new hotels in Casablanca
The acquisitions expand Pickalbatros’s business beyond beach and leisure resorts into the urban hotel market in Casablanca, the country’s financial centre.
Sofitel Casablanca Tour Blanche has 141 rooms and suites across 24 floors. Mövenpick Hotel Casablanca has 184 rooms. Together, the hotels add 325 rooms to the group’s portfolio and strengthen its presence in business travel, meetings and conferences.
Pickalbatros was founded in 1992 by Egyptian businessman Kamel Abou Aly. The group operates more than 25 properties with over 14,000 rooms, mainly in Egyptian Red Sea destinations such as Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh and Marsa Alam.
Its operations in Morocco have included resorts in Marrakech and Agadir. The latest expansion brings its portfolio in the country to nine properties and more than 2,700 rooms.
The $250m financing forms part of a wider investment programme worth $350m planned for Morocco between 2026 and 2029. The funding will support the hotel acquisitions, extend repayment periods for existing debt and pay for improvements to hotel facilities.
The sustainability-linked terms tie the financing to environmental targets. Planned work includes improving energy efficiency, installing water-saving systems and obtaining EDGE green-building certification for renovated properties in Marrakech and Agadir. EDGE is a certification system that measures resource efficiency in buildings.
