Hospitality
Malaga chain Soho Hotels and Petit Palace create largest network of urban hotels in SpainThe two companies have forged a strategic alliance that will conclude before the end of 2027
Head of Soho Boutique Hotels Gonzalo Armenteros in one of the chain's establishments in Malaga. (Salvador Salas)Pilar Martínez
Malaga
04/05/2026 a las 14:16h.Malaga-based chain Soho Boutique and the Petit Palace group have forged a strategic alliance that will allow them to create the largest network of urban boutique hotels in Spain, as both companies have announced.
They will formalise the agreement in two phases, concluding before the end of next year. This will allow them to "double Petit Palace's current assets, combine both groups' expertise in the boutique sector and make the most of their complementary destinations, creating clear economies of scale to support further growth".
Soho Hotels and Petit Palace signed the agreement on 30 April, giving the green light to a process designed to ensure a "solid and orderly integration that preserves the quality of service for guests and guarantees the success of the operation".
In the first phase, Petit Palace will absorb around a dozen Soho Boutique Hotels properties, alongside the creation of a joint venture to develop new hotel projects together in key locations. The second phase will bring in the rest of the Malaga-based chain's portfolio before 31 December 2027, "completing the integration of all assets as operational milestones agreed by both parties are met".
President of Soho Boutique Hotels Gonzalo Armenteros has said the move goes beyond growth. "This operation reflects a clear vision: to strengthen our leadership in the urban segment and build a group that is more competitive, more agile and better prepared for the future of the sector," he stated.
The Malaga-based chain, which the founders still own, runs hotels in Spain's main cities and leads the market in Andalucía. It also operates in Morocco and has several expansion projects in Italy, where it expects significant growth. Through this process, Soho says it is completing its urban growth strategy after selling its holiday division last January - a segment in which it was a leader in regions such as Andalucía. It also remains the hotel chain with the highest number of beds in Malaga city.
Petit Palace CEO Ignacio Urbelz said the deal "results from many months of work between both companies and marks a clear step forward in executing a growth plan through M&A". "We are people who take care of people and today that purpose extends to more teams, more destinations and more guests," he stated.
Petit Palace is one of the leading independent hotel operators in the Iberian Peninsula, specialising in urban boutique hotels in major cities across Spain and Portugal. After the alliance with Soho Boutique, the group operates more than 50 hotels and around 3,000 rooms, with annual revenue exceeding 250 million euros, placing it among the reference groups in the urban boutique segment in Southern Europe.
"Petit Palace is consolidating the roadmap it presented last year, focused on inorganic growth as a means of expansion in the urban boutique segment," the company stated. Following the acquisition of Sunotel in the summer of 2024, the alliance with Soho Boutique significantly increases the group's scale and its presence in key locations across the Iberian Peninsula.