AWH Partners Announces Acquisition of a Portfolio of Eight Embassy Suites Hotels

NEW YORK, Dec. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- AWH Partners, LLC – a privately held, New York-based, real estate investment, development and management firm – announces today that it has placed under contract eight Embassy Suites Hotels for an undisclosed price and will close in January 2014. The transaction involved AWH Partners working through a complicated bankruptcy process involving a quick, all-cash, no-contingency closing. The ownership group will invest more than $50 million in physical upgrades to complete a substantial repositioning to the portfolio over the next two years.

Embassy Suites Seattle – Bellevue in Bellevue, Wash.
Embassy Suites Seattle – North/Lynnwood in Lynnwood, Wash.
Embassy Suites Portland – Washington Square in Tigrad, Ore.
Embassy Suites Cincinnati – Northeast (Blue Ash) in Blue Ash, Ohio
Embassy Suites Colorado Springs - Colorado Springs, Colo.
Embassy Suites Denver – Southeast in Denver, Colo.
El Paso Suites Hotel (to regain Embassy Suites flag) – El Paso, Texas
Embassy Suites Detroit – Livonia/Novi in Livonia, Mich.

"This portfolio of well-located and premium-branded assets, with multiple parallel sales processes and a complicated bankruptcy, attracted the most sophisticated and well-capitalized opportunistic investors," says Chad Cooley, principal of AWH Partners. "Given the multi-dimensional nature of the diligence required for the investment, AWH gained an advantage by moving very quickly."

"Our deep operating expertise through our ownership of Spire Hospitality, led by CEO Bill DeForrest, and our in-house development expertise were not only critical in allowing us to secure the deal, but also will help us execute on the business plan," says Jon Rosenfeld, principal of AWH Partners. "This portfolio represents an opportunity for AWH to leverage its core strengths of acquiring, operating and redeveloping undercapitalized assets to generate out-sized returns."

"The acquisition of this portfolio marks a banner year for AWH and brings our investment in hotels to more than $400 million and 3,700 keys since 2011," says Russ Flicker, principal AWH Partners. "We are very excited about the opportunities for growth in 2014 in hospitality and beyond."

Spire Hospitality, the hotel management arm of AWH Partners, will manage the eight hotels while AWH Development, AWH Partners' in-house development arm, will oversee renovations.

About AWH Partners, LLC
AWH Partners, LLC ("AWH") is a privately held real estate investment, development and management firm formed in partnership between Russ Flicker, Jon Rosenfeld and Chad Cooley. Since 2010, AWH and its principals have completed in excess of $400 million of hotel investments, and are managing or have completed hotel redevelopment projects totaling more than $100 million. In early 2012, AWH acquired Lane Hospitality, a top-tier national hospitality platform formed in 1980, to expand AWH's capabilities in the hospitality sector by aligning its institutional investment expertise with Lane's first class operating platform and industry-leading executive team. In May of 2013, AWH rebranded Lane: Spire Hospitality. For more information, visit www.awhpartners.com.

PRESS CONTACT: THE MAYFIELD GROUP
AUTUMN BARNES MAYFIELD
850.421.9007 O / 850.443.2212 C
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SOURCE AWH Partners, LLC