France to grant state-backed loan to AccorInvest, says minister

France will grant AccorInvest, the real estate arm of hotel group Accor, a 500 million euro state-guaranteed loan to cope with the impact of the coronavirus crisis, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday. "We are indeed granting AccorInvest a state-backed loan of half a billion euros ...

France will grant AccorInvest, the real estate arm of hotel group Accor, a 500 million euro state-guaranteed loan to cope with the impact of the coronavirus crisis, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday.

"We are indeed granting AccorInvest a state-backed loan of half a billion euros ... It is certain. We are finalising this loan today," Le Maire told Radio Clasique. AccorInvest owns and leases hotels and is only minority-owned by Accor, Europe's largest hotel group, which operates brands such as Ibis or Sofitel.

Le Maire said AccorInvest, which employs 7,000 people, was "in great difficulties" as hotels worldwide run at reduced capacity because of coronavirus-related travel limits. The government has introduced the guaranteed loan scheme as one of several measures to help businesses affected by the coronavirus crisis.

Accor shares were down 2.2% at 27.45 euros by 0806 GMT.

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