The biggest hotel deal in a decade?

Singapore based tycoon, CK Ow, is considering selling off his portfolio of Stamford Hotels.

The renowned billionaire will roadshow the hotels around Australia, in the hope of securing around $1 billion for them.

If Ow pulls this off, it would be the largest portfolio on offer in more than a decade.

Among the seven hotels to potentially come to market are: Sydney’s Sir Stamford Circular Quay and Stamford Plaza Sydney Airport and Adelaide’s Stamford Grand and Stamford Plaza. Also included are Stamford Plaza hotels Melbourne and Brisbane, and the Stamford Plaza Auckland.

It is up in the air as to whether the Brisbane property will go to market.

Buyers could be attracted to the $400m rebuild slated for the Sir Stamford Hotel at Circular Quay. This hotel has been marked for luxury apartments.

1800 five-star rooms are on offer.

The move by CK Ow is exploratory at this point, as he tests how the portfolio would be pitched: likely to be to international institutions seeking to capitalise on the recovery of tourism in Australia.

The move comes on the back of Blackstone’s takeover bid for James Packer’s Crown Resorts as well as heavyweights Singaporean sovereign fund GIC making a $600 million-plus deal to buy a portfolio of 11 hotels run by TraveLodge.

Stamford is “exploring the possibility of the divestment of part of its portfolio of properties under its hospitality business segment and moving to an asset-light strategy with respect to hospitality assets”.

Stamford has indicated it “will be reinvesting its sale proceeds into core businesses in investment properties, and will continue to expand its development business”.

It has already developed apartments in Australia, including in Sydney’s Macquarie Park and developed residential properties in Double Bay and the Sydney CBD.

It is also exploring an expansion in hospitality, investment and development into other mature or developed ­markets.

Stamford told shareholders that through its “exploration exercise”, it was likely to receive and review many divestment opportunities “which are in line with its corporate growth strategy”. “Some of these may be in the nature of acquisitions, divestments and joint ventures,” it said.

CK Ow runs his chain of hotels through the Singapore-listed Stamford Land Corporation and is seeking a buyer who may willing to keep his famed brand.

This, however, is unlikely as any portfolio purchased would likely be rebadged to fit the buyer’s own brand.

Irit Jackson, 1st April 2021