September the 2nd, 2022 - The extraordinary assembly of the Crikvenica hotel group Jadran, which is backed by the Croatian pension funds PBZ/CO and Erste Plavi, gave the green light to the Management Board for the purchase of the Grand Hotel View in Postira on the island of Brac worth 47.1 million euros, equal to about 355 million kuna.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ana Blaskovic writes, back on June the 1st of this year, Jadran took over the management of the controversial Postira hotel, which filled the newspaper columns while it was still under construction due to its size and the fact that it wasn't remotely in keeping with anything near it. It was then announced that by the end of the year, the contracting parties would agree on the terms of further business cooperation.
With the acquisition of a 100 percent share, Jadran now has 19 business entities in its portfolio, all of which are partly owned and partly managed. There are more than 2,000 accommodation units in hotels and resorts and over 1,300 pitches in camps. Although the stock market announcement of the purchase of the controversial Postira hotel aroused public interest, and not in a good way, the aforementioned Croatian pension funds didn't want to reveal the motives for the takeover.
They announced on Wednesday that with the new purchase of the business, they have successfully expanded to the islands of Central Dalmatia in addition to the Crikvenica-Vinodol and Makarska riviera, since five years ago the company was taken over by the Croatian pension funds PBZ Croatia osiguranje/insurance and Erste Plavi, who provided financial support.
"By purchasing Grand Hotel View, we've strengthened our ownership portfolio with another super modern, high-class facility in a beautiful location on the island of Brac, which contributes to a significant increase in our tourist offer and income, as well as our overall business results," said Jadran board member Ivan Safundzic, adding that the acquisition "directly contributes to the realisation of the national tourism development strategy across Croatia by increasing capacities in high-class hotel accommodation units".
Jadran assures that since the opening of the controversial Postira hotel, it has been extremely well occupied, with reservations looking good up until the end of the main season, as well as announcements for the post-season, and "extremely successful business results" are expected. It seems that, however, the Croatian pension funds would have to step in with an additional financial injection to Jadran given that, according to the media, the losses carried forward amount to 233 million kuna, and the group's total liabilities amount to a massive 455 million kuna in total.
The hotel on the site of the former sardine fish processing factory in Postira otherwise boasts 230 rooms and suites, swimming pools, wellness and spa and a congress hall on five above-ground floors with a garage. The main designer was Ivana Uroda with the architectural team of Ana Tomsic, Hrvoje Marinovic and Daniela Vugrinovic. At the end of the tourist season, work should begin on the doing up of the hotel's very own beach, which should, as has announced, increase the value and quality of the hotel's overall offer and be reflected in the development of Postira and the island of Brac as a whole with the creation of new jobs for the local population.
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