Norwegian businessman, billionaire and art collector Christian Ringnes has displayed a canny talent for accumulating wealth while pursuing side quests. Alongside his real estate and hospitality ventures, he has created a museum for alcohol miniatures and gifted the Ekebergparken Sculpture Park to the city of Oslo, proving both single-minded and eclectic in his approach.
His business instinct also tells him when to act, and when to pause, delegates heard at the IHIF EMEA in Berlin on Tuesday.
In the real estate and hospitality world, he remains chairman of Eiendomsspar and chairman of Pandox, both roles which have seen him flex his ability for acquisitions. In conversation with Victoria Hills, partner, Macfarlanes, he said that he still saw plenty of potential in buying hotels.
An important first reflection, he said, was on the “power of compound interest” which had underpinned his own business success. “Eiendomsspar has experienced 16 percent annual growth under my leadership,” he confirmed. Part of the trick, he said, was “merely being there”.
Costs of capital
The real estate industry, in turn, “until three years ago, had the luxury of seeing the costs of capital steadily go down. They actually went to zero – they are still pretty low.” On top of that, Eiendomsspar’s business had benefitted from three “turbo charges”. One was the fact that “we were pretty good at timing”, he said, managing to “sell a lot before most crashes and then buying after them”. Another “turbo boost” was making big bets in hotels; after Eiendomsspar acquired Pandox in 2004, the hotels business in turn acquired Norgani Hotels in 2010, before taking over Dalata Hotel Group last year. He added that a third element of success had been repurchasing shares where possible at “60 or 70 percent of capital value”.
The Dalata deal, in particular, stood out because it was “cheap”, Ringnes affirmed. In November 2025, Pandox completed the €1.7 billion acquisition of Dalata, adding 53 properties across the UK and Ireland. The portfolio, mainly under the Maldron and Clayton brands, includes 31 owned properties, 22 leased hotels, and three managed under hotel management agreements. Dalata also has a pipeline of 1,912 rooms, with a target to reach some 21,000 rooms by 2030. As part of the deal, Dalata’s hotels will be managed by Stockholm-based Scandic Hotels Group, a business in which Eiendomsspar has recently reduced its stake. Ringnes explained that they pushed through the deal by starting out as a “hostile bidder” in order to complete the acquisition on its own, “Nordic and patient” terms. He hoped that “time would tell” they had done a good deal. “It’s better to be in a good market than a genius in a bad market,” he quipped.
In terms of dealmaking strategies, he said that having excellent relationships with banks helped them move quickly, with debt agreements arriving in as quickly as “one week”.
Appeal of hotels
He noted that hotels continue to be an appealing asset class. “We have seen very low yields in recent times for offices, retail, logistics… hotels have always yielded quite high at six to seven percent. Why? Because they are perceived to be more risky than many other real estate asset classes, but over time it’s a very good place to be,” he affirmed.
“A good hotel is never empty; and while an office is very expensive to refurbish, in hotels, we share refurbishment costs with the operator. Furthermore, because hotels are risky there are fewer competitors, and overall, hotels are more fun.”
Taking into account the current complex geopolitical situation, he reflected on his personal appetite for risk. Taking an analogy from Formula 1, he said that the best drivers don’t slow down when they see a crash ahead – they speed up. However, he noted that while he had tended to “accelerate” in previous crises, the current conflict in the Middle East was inspiring a pause for thought. “Trump’s Liberation Day was a blip. War in Iran could be different. I am hesitating,” he concluded.