ATLANTA, Ga., January 28, 2013—Officials of Peachtree Hotel Group, one of the nation’s fastest growing hotel acquisition, management, development and ownership groups, today announced that it closed 2012 by completing 31 acquisitions over the past 24 months.  The most recent was the portfolio purchase of two non-performing hotel first mortgage notes – the 135-room Hilton Garden Inn – Virginia, and the 60-room Best Western – Florida from a regional bank. Company executives also divulged that Peachtree plans to maintain one of the industry’s most aggressive acquisition paces of one to three hotels per month for at least the next 12 to 18 months.

“Our unique, two-fold acquisition strategy of purchasing both hotel real estate and discounted first mortgage notes has enabled us to grow rapidly over the past two years while most other industry players have been on the sidelines,” said Greg Friedman, Peachtree CEO.  “To support this growth, we continuously have added bench strength to give our organization the strength and flexibility to handle the growth we’ve enjoyed.  Our core team has more than 150 years of collective experience, and we’ve added key players in all facets of the business, including acquisitions, asset management, operations, accounting and marketing to support our expansion.”

Peachtree has a diversified ownership and third-party management portfolio, but most heavily targets the most recognized and respected brands in the select- and limited-service categories where it feels it can add the most value.  The company has experience in and is open to most major markets, but tends to favor the Eastern half of the United States.

Our contrarian growth strategy has allowed us to acquire assets at attractive prices and to attract some of the best talent in the industry during the economic downturn,” Friedman added.  “We have significant funding to acquire both hotel notes and hotel real estate.”

The company also is expanding its third-party management division, recently adding its third management contract, the 80-room Holiday Inn Express in Prattville, Alabama.  “Longer term, we expect our third-party management to be a larger part of our portfolio, as much as 25 percent within the next three to five years,” Friedman said. “This is not a sideline business for us or a way to spread our overhead.  We believe we add significant value for our owners’ hotels through best-in-class practices and support, which will allow us to expand rapidly in this sector.”

Peachtree’s development outlook also remains optimistic.  “Ours is a cyclical industry,” Friedman said.  “We soon will re-enter the development phase, and we are primed and ready to move forward on a number of projects.  We currently have four development projects in our pipeline with two additional projects under preliminary review.”

Peachtree’s multi-pronged approach has allowed for the company’s explosive growth.  “We are engaged in virtually all aspects of the industry, from early development and acquisitions through third-party management and disposition/capital redeployment strategies,” Friedman noted.  “We have the team in place to handle this growth and are expanding at a planned rate to meet growth goals and expectations.  We believe our recent and on-going activity has kept us more limber than most of our counterparts.  We are able to move quickly on virtually any deal that fits our business model, as we are well-capitalized and have a team that has worked through deals at a time when most players have been able to do little more than watch.  We have more than quadrupled our portfolio over the past two years and look forward to similar growth moving forward.”

About Peachtree Hotel Group
Peachtree Hotel Group invests, operates and develops premium-branded, select- and limited-service and extended-stay hotel assets under the Marriott, Starwood, Hilton, Hyatt, Choice and InterContinental Hotels Group flags. Since its inception, Peachtree has acquired or developed more than $250 million of hotel properties and first mortgage notes. Peachtree currently owns, operates and invests in 3,492 hotel guest rooms in 38 assets throughout the United States, comprised of a real estate portfolio of 20 assets and a note portfolio of 18 assets. For more information, please visit www.peachtreehotelgroup.com.