Swedish hotel property group Pandox is teaming up with Nordic hotel operator Scandic to invest SEK 1.6 bn (EUR 173 mln) in the upgrade and redevelopment of 40 existing hotels with 4,000 rooms in the Nordic countries.

The project will run over the next three years. Just over half of the hotels are in motorway locations - Kungens Kurva in Stockholm, Backadal in Göteborg, while the others are located in city centres - Malmen in Stockholm, Continental and Strand in Helsinki and the KNA Hotel in Oslo.

'This is one of the biggest joint investment agreements ever made between a hotel operator and a property owner in the Nordic countries,' said Anders Nissen, CEO of Pandox. 'The project creates value and is strategically important for both Scandic and for Pandox, which is making the investment through its associated company, Norgani. We're continuing to develop our portfolio and are now concentrating specifically on recently-acquired hotels that need investment.'

With its 160 hotels and 30,000 rooms, Scandic has led the Nordic hotel market since 1963.

Pandox is one of the leading players in the hotel property market in Europe. The portfolio comprises 121 hotels, 11 operational businesses, with 24,800 rooms located in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, the UK, Switzerland, the Bahamas and Canada.