Laurus Corporation Acquires Sheraton® Hotel in Washington, DC

LOS ANGELES, June 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Laurus Corporation, a U.S.-based private real estate investment and development firm, announced the acquisition of the Sheraton Washington North Hotel in Beltsville, MD. The nine-story, full-service hotel, situated on 5.78 acres, is an institutional quality asset in this expanding Washington, DC submarket, and features 207 well-appointed guestrooms and approximately 5,410 square feet of well-designed, flexible meeting space. Additionally, the hotel features a 3-meal Restaurant & Bar, a Club Lounge, a newly renovated fitness center, an outdoor swimming pool and sundeck, and the LINK@SHERATON® business center.

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The hotel is strategically located in Beltsville near the intersection of the Capital Beltway and I-95, a rapidly growing center of commerce that is home to more than 15,000 businesses which employ about 218,000 workers. The Sheraton Washington North is in close proximity to major employers in the greater Washington, DC area and is adjacent to the FDA's campus at White Oak, University of Maryland at College Park, USDA and the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center.

"The hotel caters to the need of a strong, vibrant and growing economic center of activity.  The FDA White Oak facility will grow from just over 5,000 employees to nearly 9,000 over the next three years and FBI, NASA and NSA house key operations in this area.  We are bringing in a new operator and refreshing the guest experience with our upcoming renovation; this, coupled with an aggressive marketing strategy, will position the asset for excellent performance," said Andres Szita, Chairman and Co-founder of Laurus Corporation.

"This is a superb opportunity for us to drive guest satisfaction and significantly increase the hotel's bottom line," said Austin Khan, Chief Investment Officer of Laurus Corporation. "This property marks the 6^th capital allocation for Laurus' Ethika fund, and demonstrates our ability to find unique value-creation opportunities in top markets on behalf of our investors."

With its proximity to downtown Washington, D.C., easy accessibility to all three of the D.C. area's major airports and nearby Metro access via the Green Line, the Sheraton Washington North Hotel has long been a highly desired destination for groups, corporate executives and leisure travelers.

As a vibrant urban hub and the nation's capital, Washington, DC ranks as the ninth most popular destination for domestic tourists and the seventh most popular US destination for international visitors; according to Smith Travel Research, the Washington market ranks third in the country, after New York and Orlando. The Greater Washington Metropolitan Area is a hub for information technology, biosciences research and government activity, and has a population of 9.3 million, making it the fourth largest metropolitan area in the country.

Laurus Corporation is a real estate investment and development company that specializes in hotels and resorts, office buildings, multifamily and mixed-use properties. Laurus employs an entrepreneurial investment strategy designed to consistently achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns by creating capital appreciation opportunities through repositioning, restructuring, re-development and intensive post acquisition asset management.  It is affiliated with Ethika Investments, LLC, a real estate private equity firm.

Laurus Corporation
1880 Century Park East, Suite 1016
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Phone: (310) 277-8600
Fax: (310) 362-0353
http://www.lauruscorporation.com

SOURCE Laurus Corporation