BarcelonaThe state has authorized financial support with a total of 85 million euros for the Catalan hotel groups Hesperia and Abba. The operation has been approved by the Council of Ministers and the money goes to the fund of 10 billion euros managed by the Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI) to maintain Spanish economic sectors considered strategic and which suffered especially from impact of the covid-19 pandemic.
In the case of Hesperia, the hotel group of the Castro family, the Spanish government has approved a total aid of 55 million euros, of which 28 million will be in the form of participatory credit, and the other 26.9 million as ordinary loan. In the case of Abba, the aid is 30 million euros, 17.8 million of which as a participating loan and 12.2 million as an ordinary loan.
These are not the first Catalan hotel groups to be rescued with funds managed by SEPI after the impact. The Hotusa hotel group, from Amancio López, received 241 million euros in aid, while the Maresme Serhs group received 34 million.
In the case of Hesperia and Abba, the Spanish government has highlighted its importance not only in the tourism sector, but also for its presence with urban hotels and in industrialized areas. Hesperia operates mainly in Spain and Venezuela. The chain has 23 establishments, most of them four stars, although it also has three and five. The group controls five resorts and 17 urban establishments –including the emblematic Barcelona Fira Suites in Bellvitge, the Presidente in Barcelona or the Hyatt Regency Hesperia in Madrid–, as well as apartments with hotel and restaurant services. The chain saw a 80% drop in sales in 2020 compared to the previous year.
For its part, Abba has 22 three- and four-star hotels, most of which are in Spain, although it also has a presence in Andorra, Germany and Chile. In Spain, the chain – born in Pamplona but now based in Barcelona – has a presence especially in Cantabria, Asturias, Castilla y León, Andalusia and Madrid.
The Spanish government’s spokeswoman, Isabel Rodríguez, emphasized that these aids allow the viability of companies especially affected by the pandemic and that, in total, they add up to more than 3,400 permanent jobs in their regular staff. For the time being, the Spanish executive, through this 10,000 million solvency support fund managed by SEPI, has approved 19 of the files for a total of almost 2,126 million euros, 40% of the 5,365 million that have been requested.