Blackstone finds new angles in hospitality investment

London-based Luigi Caruso, the COO of Blackstone Real Estate in Europe and a senior managing director at the firm, said that hospitality remained “a high conviction theme globally”, due to positive supply/demand dynamics, and secular trends “that have remained pretty consistent”. He pointed out that annual growth in Southern Europe had exceeded 7 percent in recent years, while hitting around 4 percent across Europe. “Interest rates coming down, strong appetite from credit funds and leverage being accretive again for buyers like us have all been strong drivers,” he confirmed.