Private equity firm hunts agency for hotels

SBE Entertainment Group, a private investment firm with interests in real estate development, hospitality and independent film production, is seeking an agency to create a campaign promoting its hotel division.

SBE Hotel Group has been in talks with agencies in the UK and other countries about the global brief. It recently spent $114.5m (&£65m) acquiring the Le Meridian hotel in Beverly Hills which features 55 luxury suites, 10,000 sq ft of state-of-the-art conference facilities and a deluxe spa.

In addition, SBE Entertainment is set to open the Miami Ritz Plaza hotel in Florida this autumn. Both of these projects have seen the new owners team up with designer Philippe Starck, who designed the London’s St Martin’s Lane hotel, in an attempt to rebuild and reposition the hotels towards even more prestigious customers.

SBE Hotel Group has holdings that currently include eight hotels, totalling more than 2,000 rooms in Los Angeles and Palm Springs,

In July, SBE Entertainment’s founder and CEO Sam Nazarian appointed Theresa Fatino to the new role of chief creative officer, with the task of leading the brand development of SBE’s Hotel Group. Fatino will assume a lead role in what SBE claims are aggressive plans to expand its burgeoning hotel brand.

Last January Nazarian announced the appointment of Arash Azarbarzin as president of the SBE Hotel Group to lead the acquisition programme.