Olivier Daguzan has been appointed as chief operating officer for AccorHotels’ HotelInvest division in the UK.

He will take on the role in addition to heading the division in Benelux which he already manages.

Daguzan has been with AccorHotels for over 15 years, most recently as chief operating officer HotelInvest Benelux and Switzerland.

In his new role he will have overall responsibility for building HotelInvest’s portfolio of assets in the UK and Benelux by selecting key sites and ensuring value within existing properties.

HotelInvest is tasked with developing AccorHotels’ owned portfolio of hotels.

This comprises optimisation of the ownership structure of its existing portfolio to ensure maximum profitability; managing its assets by investing in renovations, refurbishments or extensions; and developing the AccorHotels portfolio by buying hotels or building new ones. 

UK properties recently added to its portfolio include a 231-room ibis which opened in Cambridge in September 2016; a 196-room ibis at Canning Town, London, scheduled to open this year; and the Novotel Canary Wharf, a £90 million investment which at 39 storeys will be the world’s tallest Novotel.

Daguzan is a working example of AccorHotels’ commitment to developing and promoting talent.

Having graduated from the Institut Commercial de Nancy with a master’s degree in finance he joined AccorHotels as an internal auditor and has held several key roles including chief financial officer Accor Services in India and director of finance, AccorHotels Egypt.

Olivier will report into John Ozinga, chief executive of HotelInvest globally.

Daguzan commented: “HotelInvest is now Europe’s leading hotel investor having significantly increased gross asset value and operating margin in recent years.

“I am proud to have played a small part in this success story and am excited about leading the next phase of our development in the UK, which is a hugely important area of focus for further expansion.”