Spain´s Barceló Group Announces the Creation of New Company

Barceló Group from Spain, headquartered in Palma de Majorca, Spain, announced earlier this week the formation of a new company within its portfolio: Playa Hotels & Resorts, S.L. (Playa).

Playa will focus on the acquisition and development of all-inclusive beachfront resorts in Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean. To date, Playa has raised more than $580 million in equity funding commitments from a small group of international institutional investors, including Barceló, Merrill Lynch Global Principal Investments and Marathon Asset Management.

Barceló Crestline will be the asset manager for the Playa portfolio.

Bruce Wardinski, president and CEO of Barceló Crestline, will also be the chairman and CEO of Playa Hotels & Resorts. The new company is headquartered in Palma de Majorca, Spain.

Playa is anticipating aggressive growth through the acquisition and

development of all-inclusive beachfront resorts in Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Playa´s initial portfolio will consist of four properties in Mexico: the Barceló Premium La Jolla de Mismaloya in Puerto Vallarta, Barceló Premium Ixtapa, the Barceló Premium Huatulco and the Barceló Premium Karmina Palace in Manzanillo. All future acquisitions will

also be branded and managed by Barceló Hotels & Resorts.

Barceló is one of the world´s largest hospitality and travel management companies and is based in Palma de Majorca, Spain. The company which, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is 100 percent owned by the Barceló family and has been run by three generations of family members. Barceló and its affiliates own, manage and lease more than 120 hotels in 16 countries across 4 continents.