Spanish hotel group Lopesan Hotels & Resorts has secured €300 million in compensation from the Canary Islands government, following an amicable settlement that puts an end to a legal dispute stretching back more than twenty years. The compensation forms part of a wider €485 million settlement paid out by the Canarian authorities to a group of hotel developers, according to information from Spanish outlet Hosteltur. Lopesan receives close to 62% of this, the largest share of the package.
A dispute rooted in the 2001 and 2003 urban planning laws
The dispute originates in the zoning rules adopted in 2001, which governed the construction of new hotels and tourism complexes, and subsequently in Law 19/2003 on the general guidelines for land use and tourism planning in the Canary Islands. These laws reclassified as rural land plots originally earmarked for tourism use, making hotel development on them impossible for almost twenty-five years.
The group of developers concerned, including Lopesan, had initially sought €843 million. The final agreement, reduced to €485 million, opens a five-year window during which the automatic reclassification of the plots in question as rural land will not apply, allowing their urban development to be reassessed against current planning rules.
The agreement opens the possibility for Lopesan to relaunch development of these plots, though the group has not yet announced a timeline or an investment figure.
Other hotel developers involved
Besides Lopesan, other hotel groups are among the beneficiaries of the settlement, notably Grupo Satocan, which receives €10.2 million, as well as Seaside and Dream Place. The remaining parties involved in the proceedings are not from the hotel sector, according to Ivar Yuste.
The settlement comes against a favourable backdrop, with hotel investment in Spain picking up — a trend documented in particular by the Savills report on European hotel investment, which highlights growing investor selectivity in the Iberian market.
Lopesan’s footprint beyond the Canaries
Lopesan operates and/or owns 24 hotels, of which 13 are located in the Canary Islands, four in the Dominican Republic, four in Germany and three in Austria. The group also expanded its footprint on the continent in 2024, with the acquisition of the Hotel Miguel Ángel in Madrid alongside Stoneweg Hospitality, for €210 million — around €871,000 per room for this 241-room property.
