Kuwaiti Sheikh set to sell Australian hotel portfolio
A Kuwaiti Sheikh is selling his entire Australian hotel portfolio with price expectations above $200 million.
Mubarak A.M. Al-Sabah’s Action Hotels Group is selling the Sheikh’s three Melbourne hotels, the 347-room Novotel Melbourne South Wharf, the 155-room Ibis Glen Waverley and the 73-room Ibis Budget Melbourne Airport Hotel.
The three hotels are all managed by Accor, Australia’s largest hotel operator and they can be purchased separately or all together.
Michael Simpson, Wayne Bunz and Scott Callow from CBRE Hotels will lead the campaign to sell the Action Hotels portfolio.
“Australia is currently viewed as a safe haven for international investors, underpinned by how well we’ve handled the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mr Bunz.
“Australia is expected to be a key beneficiary of inbound capital once borders reopen, with investors seeking to capitalise on a market rebound and Melbourne regaining its position as the country’s events capital.”
It will be a big comeback for Melbourne as figures from STR analysts show hotel revenues fell 58 per cent in Melbourne in 2020.
Action Group Australia director Andrew Nehme, said the company had been fielding a number of unsolicited offers for the portfolio for some time.
“Given the strength and depth of capital in the market and the impending tourism recovery, we felt that it was a good time to approach the market in a coordinated way,” he said.
Irit Jackson, 4th February 2021
