When Helsinki-listed CapMan acquired pan-Nordic property company Midstar last year, marking the largest ever Nordic hospitality deal, hotel investors across the bloc took note. The takeover, for a reported €400 million, comprised some 28 hotels in the region, serving to significantly expand and diversify CapMan Hotels II’s Nordic hotel portfolio.
A few short months later, heavyweight family office L+R inked a Nordic hospitality joint venture with CapMan and Midstar, underlining the fact that the region’s hotels are on investor buy lists. The venture launched with an initial equity commitment of €600 million to acquire and enhance hospitality opportunities across the region, plus the intention to grow the portfolio to over €1 billion in time. “We are highly opportunistic with our discretionary capital and can shift between geographies and segments, in line with where we see the best risk-reward,” noted L+R CEO Cody Bradshaw after the deal was signed.
Investment dynamics
The latest Colliers data underlines the fact that hotels have become a much more significant part of the Nordic investment landscape in the last few years, as capital follows the region’s rising star. While hospitality represented just 2 percent of real estate deals in 2022-2023, as of 2025, it had tripled to a 6 percent market share. According to CBRE, hotel deals in the region in fact reached a record €1.85 billion last year.
Resilient demand and the recovery of RevPAR are two key factors underpinning hotel capital markets, according to the data, while prime product and prime locations remain in highest demand, although a number of destinations are notably in evolution. “Dual seasonality is the differentiator,” says Jasmine Hopkins of Savills global residential development consultancy, pointing to the appeal of “husky sledding, snowmobiling, and ice fishing in winter; hiking, lake fishing, and mountain biking in summer”.
“Hospitality is an important and improving sector in Nordic capital markets,” notes Richard Dawes, director, Savills UK & pan-European hotel capital markets. “Deals were traditionally domestic-led, but that is shifting – in fact, much of the interest last year was from non-regional players.” Other real estate trends, such as the country restructuring some of its residential platforms, is also altering investment volumes in beds, he notes. “In addition, a number of local players are looking to diversify their holdings outside the region, with several family offices trying to internationalise,” he adds.
The Danish difference
Data shows that Denmark is the biggest market in terms of cross-border flows, with notable deals in Copenhagen underlining this trend. In early May, global investment firm Hines sold the four-star 25hours Hotel Indre By in the Danish capital to northern European investment company Urban Partners. The hotel is the main element of a 21,500 sq m mixed-use scheme, which includes 3,100 sq m of high-street retail and 1,000 sq m of residential units. Hines extensively renovated the property in 2022.
Recent legislative change in Denmark is also placing upward pressure on hotel market values. In March, Copenhagen City Hall imposed a temporary planning ban affecting hotel conversions and new developments in the city. While renewed political focus on safeguarding the city’s architecture adds complexities to the city’s hospitality pipeline, it also bolsters the worth of standing assets.
Dawes notes that this is one of many factors supporting occupancy rates in Denmark. Increasing volumes of overseas capital, meanwhile, could also help more international operators enter markets which have hitherto been dominated by local brands, such as Scandic and Strawberry.
“Traditional leasing models in the Nordics have not suited some of the large global brands, but as new international investors come in, it is reasonable to believe that franchise agreements will become more common,” he says. “As a result of that, more US brands could find suitable entry points.”
The recent purchase by Singapore’s M+L hotels of the Maria Helsinki is a case in point. The owner inked a deal with Hilton to reopen the property as the first ever Waldorf Astoria in Finland. Deals like this speak to a growing appetite from international travellers to view the Nordics in a more sophisticated light.
Branded residential potential
Traveller tastes are also likely to underpin the growth of branded residences across the region, according to Savills’ Hopkins. “No global luxury brand has a residential footprint in the Nordics, which is odd given where high-end demand has moved,” she says. “Buyers want wellness at the core of the product rather than tacked on, experience-led ownership, and a year-round destination rather than a six-month one. The Nordics deliver all three. Most experience-led destinations are either winter or summer; the Nordics work for both.”
What has complicated expansion bids is a series of factors interrupting the wider luxury pipeline. “Building luxury hospitality in the Nordics is hard,” she notes. “Permitting is slow and conservative, especially around protected landscapes. Build seasons are short. Construction costs are among the highest in Europe, and sustainability standards aren’t a checkbox. For a hotel-only model, those numbers rarely add up at the luxury end, which is why the region has been left to small operators and one-off chalets.”
However, Hopkins believes that branded residences have all the qualities necessary to overcome such challenges. She argues: “Branded residences address the supply-side problem head-on. Presales bring capital in before the build is finished, which help to de-risks developments in a market with long timelines. Per-square-metre prices at the branded luxury end can absorb the Nordic cost base in a way hotel rooms can’t.” She also notes that the “fewer-units, higher-quality format” suits a planning regime that rewards restraint, where “scarcity helps drive value”.
She concludes: “If global brands move into the Nordics, we would expect to see a selective rollout. Planning friction, build economics, and the branded residential model itself all push toward fewer, higher-quality schemes rather than mass entry.” All of which would rather suit the market, she says. “That’s helpful for positioning rather than limiting; it keeps the segment exclusive at a moment when some luxury branded residential markets are over saturated.”