OREANDA-NEWS. Action Hotels, the leading owner, developer and asset manager of branded three and four star hotels in the Middle East and Australia, is pleased to confirm Accor's Mercure brand as its partner for its new hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which was announced on 23 April 2015.

The 130 room leasehold hotel, which will be a three star offering, is the first time Action Hotels has partnered with the Mercure brand.  Mercure, one of Accor's mid-scale brand offerings, comprises over 750 3-star and 4-star hotels located in 51 countries.

Mercure Riyadh Olaya is being converted from an existing office building in the highly sought-after Olaya district. The hotel is situated in a prime location on Olaya Street, at the centre of the city's commercial and leisure districts in Riyadh. The hotel is expected to open in Q4 2016.

Mercure Riyadh Olaya will be one of two Action Hotels properties in Saudi Arabia and the Company's first in Riyadh. As previously announced, the Mercure Riyadh Olaya is in addition to the pipeline of hotels announced at the time of IPO and will increase Action Hotel's aggregate room count to 2,893.  The partnership with Mercure takes Action Hotels' and Accor's number of hotel partnerships to 10 (six operational and four in the pipeline).

Christophe Landais, Chief Operating Officer of Accor Hotels Middle East, said: "We are delighted with this signing as we consolidate further our collaboration with our trusted partner, Action Hotels, to mutually expand our respective portfolios and bring more international quality hotels to Saudi Arabia. This mid-scale property when complete will help cater to the fast growing demand in the Kingdom for hotels in this segment."

Sheikh Mubarak A.M. Al-Sabah, Chairman, Action Hotels said:  "We are pleased to yet again partner with Accor Hotels on the development of this great addition to our hotel portfolio. With the right brand partnership, the hotel is expected to be well received in Riyadh. Accor Hotels is a strong hotel operator in Saudi and Mercure is well recognised in the mid-market hotel segment. We look forward to working with Accor as we continue to grow our portfolio of economy and mid-market hotels across the Middle East and Australia."

Action Hotels PLC Action Hotels is a leading owner, developer and asset manager of branded three and four star hotels in the Middle East and Australia. Established in 2005, Action Hotels currently operates 9 hotels with 1,561 rooms, including the recently announced acquisition of ibis Budget Melbourne Airport, across the Middle East and Australia, with further properties in development in both regions.