The sale is to Grape Hospitality, a platform owned 70% by investment firm Eurazeo and 30% by AccorHotels.

The portfolio transferred to Grape Hospitality consists of one Pullman, 19 Novotel, 13 Mercure, and 35 ibis, three ibis Styles and 14 ibis budget hotels.

Most of the hotels (61) are in France but also cover Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands.

All these hotels will retain their affiliation with the AccorHotels brands through franchise contracts and will also be subject to a renovation programme.

John Ozinga, chief executive of HotelInvest, AccorHotels’ investment division, said: "This operation substantially accelerates the repositioning of HotelInvest assets and appreciably boosts their profitability. We are very happy to contribute to the emergence of a sizeable new hotel investor in the European market, which will be a strategic partner for the group’s future."