U.S. financial media has revealed that Accor has mandated a four-bank consortium led by Goldman Sachs to manage the preparation of an initial public offering (IPO) for Ennismore, which would value the company at approximately €4 billion.
As a reminder, Ennismore is one of three pillars within Accor’s Luxury & Lifestyle division, alongside the Sofitel, MGallery and Emblems portfolio, led by Maud Bailly, and the Raffles & Fairmont group, headed by Omer Acar.
Ennismore’s structure is somewhat distinctive: it operates as a joint venture, established in 2021 through the merger of Accor’s lifestyle brands with Sharan Pasricha’s independent Ennismore group. The portfolio today encompasses more than 200 hotels and 500 restaurants and bars across brands including The Hoxton, Mama Shelter, Delano, Mondrian, Gleneagles, SLS, 25hours and Hyde.
Pressure from the Qatari shareholder accelerates the timeline
In 2022, Qatar First Bank — now rebranded as Lesha Bank — acting on behalf of a group of Qatari investors, acquired a stake in Ennismore for €185 million, implying a company valuation of €2 billion. The transaction included a liquidity commitment accepted by Accor, requiring that the Qatari stake remain tradeable and convertible into cash on the open market.
It is in response to this obligation that Sébastien Bazin had previously indicated he was evaluating several liquidity options before settling on an IPO — a process that must be initiated before autumn 2026.
Accor has appointed Goldman Sachs as lead bookrunner of a banking syndicate that also includes JPMorgan, BNP Paribas and Société Générale, to manage the listing on the New York Stock Exchange, considered the most favourable venue for attracting institutional investors to a lifestyle hospitality asset of this profile.
According to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, the Ennismore joint venture could command a valuation of between €3.2 billion and €5 billion. The transaction appears primarily designed to provide the Qatari investors with an exit and the opportunity to realise their capital gain, while Accor intends to retain majority control of the joint venture alongside its co-founder Sharan Pasricha.
