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Corinthia seals €74m deal for full control of Libyan luxury residential complex

18/05/2026

Corinthia Group has struck a €74 million deal to take full control of a Libyan luxury residential complex, buying out a Kuwaiti partner’s stake, the company announced.

The deal will see International Hotel Investments (IHI), a subsidiary of the Corinthia Group, and a second company, CPHCL, become the sole owners of Mediterranean Investment Holding (MIH). CPHCL is IHI’s majority shareholder.

MIH owns Palm City Residences, a 413-unit luxury gated community in the Libyan city of Janzour.

The 170,000 square metre seafront development includes bungalows, villas, houses and apartments, as well as a leisure centre, medical clinic, swimming pools and other amenities. It describes itself as “the address of choice in Tripoli for the expatriate community”.

The complex opened in late 2009, shortly before the Libyan revolution threw its plans into turmoil and wiped out almost two-thirds of its contracts. Occupancy levels gradually rose over the following years, despite the unrest in Libya dragging on.

MIH also owns a 50,000 square metre plot of land with a 400-metre stretch of private shoreline in Libya, earmarked for a development dubbed Palm Waterfront. The company has also long-promised a landmark €300 million development, known as Medina Tower, in Tripoli.

Corinthia previously held a 50% stake in MIH through its parent company, CPHCL, with Kuwaiti National Investment Holding holding the remaining half.

Following the deal, CPHCL will up its stake to 75%. Meanwhile, IHI will acquire a 25% stake, bringing MIH entirely under Corinthia’s control.

CPHCL and IHI will each pay €37 million for the acquisition, bringing the deal’s total value up to €74 million.

The deal is expected to be sealed on June 30, the companies said in a stock market statement on Monday.

The deal will increase Corinthia’s presence in Libya, where it has operated a five-star hotel since 2003.

Its Tripoli hotel was the site of a 2015 terrorist attack in which IS militants stormed the building, leaving nine dead and taking guests hostage.

The hotel remains one of Tripoli’s top hotels, frequently hosting diplomats and top officials from around the world.

Last month, Corinthia announced plans to expand into China, saying it had teamed up with partners to build a 225-metre-high tower in the city of Chengdu by 2032.

It is also looking closer to home, with its plans for the redevelopment of the former Ħal Ferħ holiday complex receiving the blessing of a Planning Authority case officer earlier this year.

Corinthia hopes to turn the long-derelict holiday complex into a mixed-use tourism and residential complex, with 25 residential units alongside a 161-room hotel.

Last year, the company issued a €45 million bond, set to mature in 2035. CPHCL CEO Jean-Pierre Schembri said the funds would be used to optimise its property portfolio and branch out into new sectors.