The company Aro-Palace SA has signed a new contract, worth €3.17 million excluding VAT, for the execution of architectural works on the modernization project of the former Capitol Hotel in Brasov. This is in addition to an earlier contract worth €3 million plus VAT, signed in September for construction and facade works, strengthening the partnership with the French group Accor to affiliate the establishment to the international Mercure brand.
The project aims to completely transform the Capitol Hotel, which will reopen at the end of 2025 under the name Mercure Brasov Center. Following the modernization, the hotel will have 181 rooms, including 28 suites, an à la carte restaurant, a lobby bar and six conference rooms with a total area of over 500 square meters. The agreement between Aro-Palace and Accor is structured as a franchise agreement.
Aro-Palace, one of the most important tour operators in the center of the country, manages 1,300 accommodation places. The company is undergoing an extensive asset modernization process, with its historic hotel, Aro Palace Brasov, to be affiliated to the Hyatt Regency brand.
These investments are made in the context of a portfolio rearrangement strategy implemented by the majority shareholder, Transilvania Investments (TRANSI). The investment fund listed on the BVB aims to sell holdings with a total fair value of RON 328.7 million (approximately EUR 64.57 million), in order to increase the net asset value and reduce the trading discount of the shares. According to Marius Moldovan, executive chairman of Transilvania Investments Alliance, the strategy is not aimed at liquidating the fund, but at generating cash that will be partly returned to shareholders and partly reinvested in new projects.