The first The Student Hotel Italian will open this year in Florence, in via Strozzi. The structure, which will consist of a total of about 400 rooms, will occupy the historic Florentine Palazzo del Sonno. The new hotel will be aimed at young people and students, but also at businessmen and frequent travellers. The Florence project will be the first structure officially opened in Italy by the Dutch company, the second to be inaugurated in Bologna in 2018.
Currently, the project is employing 200 people, including architects, engineers, workers and specialized manpower, while the hotel staff that will be employed will number around 100. The total investment is 40 million euro, which will be covered by Mps Capital Services Banca per le Imprese, the corporate and investment bank of the Montepaschi Group, UniCredit and Crédit Agricole Cariparma.
The loan transaction, for a total of 41,1 million euro, provides for an equal shareholding of 40% by Mps Capital Services and UniCredit and the remaining 20% by Crédit Agricole Cariparma. Within this transaction, Mps Capital Services will play the role of agent bank, while Banca Mps will act as custodian bank.
The Student Hotel proposes an innovative model of hybrid hospitality, which is gaining widespread market acceptance. The occupancy percentage of all TSH structures is very high, never lower than 95% for student residences and around 80% for hotels.
The investment in Florence can be explained by the city's strong tourist and university vocation, capable of attracting 4,2 million visitors a year and about 70.000 students. With this transaction, however, Mps Capital Services, UniCredit and Crédit Agricole Cariparma confirm their role of excellence in the national panorama of structured finance
