As part of its Asset Management program, Accor sold the hotel Mercure Warszawa Fryderyk Chopin to Echo Investment S.A. for 31m euros on December 21. Located in the business center of Warsaw, this 250-room hotel will be transformed into an office building.

Furthermore, Orbis, the subsidiary of Accor in Poland, has led a successful asset restructuring policy throughout 2011, with seven outright sales (more than 1,000 rooms) representing a total disposal amount of 45m. euros, more than half of which in the second half of the year. None of these hotels was flagged under an Accor brand.

All of them, including the Mercure Chopin, were presenting operating performances and technical characteristics below the Group’s standards, and will stop operating as hotels.

In the meantime, Orbis kept refocusing on its core hotel business, with the disposal of its Car Rental and Car Fleet business (Orbis Transport), sold to Arval for 22m. euros in December.

Overall, about 100m. euros of assets were sold by Accor and its subsidiary in Poland in 2011.