Innovative Real Estate Management and Investment Solutions
As a European investment boutique, we contemplate the impact of the wider economy and embrace innovation to help our clients navigate any uncertainty.
IREMIS acquires Novotel Freiburg and signs long-term lease with Scandic Hotels for repositioning after refurbishment
September 07, 2026 / By webmaster
Luxembourg – IREMIS has acquired the Novotel Freiburg am Konzerthaus from Deka Immobilien on behalf of its IREMIS Hotel Real Estate Fund I. The hotel will undergo a substantial refurbishment and reopen as a Scandic hotel in autumn 2027 under a new long-term lease agreement.
The 219-room hotel features a restaurant and bar, dedicated conference facilities, and a wellness and spa area. Ideally located at the entrance to Freiburg’s vibrant pedestrian zone and historic old town, and adjacent to the city’s concert hall, the hotel benefits from a prime location in the heart of the city.
Freiburg is a strong fit with the Fund’s investment strategy, combining a renowned university sector, a thriving innovation ecosystem focused on future technologies, a diversified regional economy, strong leisure demand, and limited opportunities for new hotel development.
Following the successful acquisition and repositioning of the Barceló Dresden Newa, Freiburg represents the second investment by the IREMIS Hotel Real Estate Fund I and further demonstrates the Fund’s strategy of identifying and actively repositioning high-quality hotel real estate in prime locations in dynamic cities across the Eurozone.
Currently operated under the Novotel brand, the hotel will undergo a substantial refurbishment in 2027 aimed at modernising and repositioning the asset ahead of its reopening under the Scandic brand. Scandic has a network of around 320 hotels across Europe, including 12 hotels in operation and under development in Germany.
Peter Lenhardt, Head of Hotel & Leisure at IREMIS, commented:
“Freiburg is an excellent fit with our investment strategy. Its position as a leading university city, strong regional economy and attractive leisure market create diversified year-round demand. This acquisition represents another important step in building a focused portfolio of high-quality hotel assets in dynamic European cities. We are delighted to partner with Scandic on the repositioning and look forward to unlocking the full potential of the property through active asset management and targeted investment.”
Jens Mathiesen, President & CEO of Scandic Hotels Group, said:
“This is an important step in our continued German growth journey and a clear example of how Scandic can create value together with new property partners. Freiburg is a resilient and attractive city with strong year-round demand, and the hotel’s location gives us an excellent platform to establish Scandic in a new German destination for both business and leisure guests.”
About IREMIS
IREMIS is a Luxembourg-based European real estate investment manager, founded and held by Jos Short and Jochen Schäfer-Suren, specialising in operational real estate sectors with a particular focus on hotel and leisure. Through its Hotel Real Estate Fund platform, IREMIS acquires high-quality hotel assets in dynamic European cities and creates value through active asset management, refurbishment and strategic repositioning initiatives. The first IREMIS Hotel Real Estate Fund was launched in 2023 and is backed by German institutional investors. For additional information: www.iremis.eu
About Scandic
Scandic is the largest hotel company in the Nordic countries with a network of about 320 hotels with 68,000 rooms in operation and under development, in more than 150 destinations. The company is the leader when it comes to integrating sustainability in all operations and its award winning Design for All concept ensures that Scandic hotels are accessible to everyone. Well loved by guests and employees, the Scandic Friends loyalty program is the largest in the Nordic hotel industry and the company is one of the most attractive employers in the region. Scandic is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. www.scandichotelsgroup.com
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Message from the Shareholders
Jos Short and Jochen Schaefer-Suren are delighted to announce the launch of our new real estate investment and asset management firm IREMIS.
For more than a decade governments and central banks have dealt with crises by providing numerous subsidies and liquidity at ultra-low interest rates leading to ever higher debts and inflated asset values. This made investment management easier facilitating the emergence of passive investment management.
Recent challenges like Covid, increased geo-political tensions and climate change have led to an unprecedented combination of economic disruptions, higher cost, inflation and interest rates as well as behavioural changes by consumers or business like the reversal of globalisation affecting the political, social and economic as well as capital market outlook across the globe.
All real estate classes will be affected by this more complicated economic and financial context requiring anew more active fund management by experienced specialist investment managers. Nowhere is this more valid than for complex real estate asset classes like hotel and leisure which are most affected by the above challenges and require specialist expertise to capture the significant opportunities in hotel and leisure this world of change will bring for the next few years.
Hence “IREMIS“ = Innovative Real Estate Management & Investment Solutions. Our new firm will focus on specialist sectors and to overcome these challenges with a senior team with the expertise, track record and network in hotel, leisure, and retail to develop innovative solutions and investment and asset management strategies to achieve above average returns in this context. Specifically, we will provide strategic and restructuring advisory, investment transaction and asset management services in private and public markets as well as separate account and fund management together with partners and investors. We can add value not only for our institutional investor clientele, but also lenders and occupiers. We will be active in core; value add and opportunistic strategies and also co-investments across Europe.
IREMIS has already a team with 80+ years of pan-European experience and track record and initially will have a presence in the UK, Germany, Spain and Luxemburg but grow into a Pan-European investment management company. Based on the track record and experience of its founders and initial team, IREMIS will start with a Hotel and Leisure division led by Peter Lenhardt. He was Jochen’s right-hand man for many years at Internos/Principal where Jochen was the CEO of Principal Real Estate Europe’s Hotel and Leisure division, and managed very successful Hotel real estate funds and separate accounts. We are in the process of creating a retail division. Today we are a team of 5 experienced professionals and are happy to elaborate on our team and plans.