$315 million Sydney CBD hotel sale the largest since 2015
Private equity group KKR is backing two local funds managers that are purchasing the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth in a $315 million deal.
This is the largest local hotel sale since the start of the pandemic.
The Sofitel Sydney Wentworth was purchased by local firms Futuro Capital and Marprop and backed KKO in a counter-cyclical play.
The hotel will be refurbished and ready to operate in time for the return of international travellers.
“We look forward to enhancing the heritage elements of the property and creating destination food and beverage offerings to enliven the overall Sofitel Wentworth offering for the long term,” said Marprop executive director Evan Gallagher.
The hotel is being purchased from Frasers, a trust controlled by a Singapore-listed company.
“The sale represents the largest single asset hotel transaction in the city since the 2015 sale of the Westin Sydney and coincides with a surge in Australian hotel transactions, despite a year of lockdowns and ongoing travel restrictions,” said Tom Gibson and Michael Simpson of CBRE who brokered the deal.
More than $1.6 billion has changed hands in Australian hotel asset transactions this year.
Gibson believes the CBD hotel market will return to 2019 performance levels in around three to five years once the pandemic hangover is done and international travellers return.
Irit Jackson, 1st November 2021
