Sydney’s Ace Hotel expected to sell for around $300M
Sydney’s Ace Hotel has hit the market and is expected to be sold for around $300 million.
The Surry Hills venue has been open since mid-2022 and comprises restaurants, several drinking holes and the Kiln rooftop bar.
It also has 264 guest rooms and suites, a gym and conference rooms.
The property is currently managed by American-owned Ace Hotel Group and is the company’s first foray into this region’s market. The trendy Sydney venue is recognised as one of Asia Pacific’s best luxury lifestyle properties and has won several design and restaurant awards.
The sale of the venue is being managed by CBRE’s Michael Simpson and Tom Gibson, via an international expression of interest campaign closing May 2.
According to CBRE revenue per available hotel room is up 13 per cent for calendar year 2023 versus 2019 before the pandemic hit.
“Sydney continues to be one of the strongest markets in Australia for 2024 with January RevPAR up 10 per cent versus January 2023, and February being one of the strongest months in Sydney’s history,” Simpson said.
“This sale presents an opportunity to acquire a rare and significant freehold stand-alone hotel in Australia’s key gateway city. The management agreement with Ace Hotels affords the incoming owner with the benefit of operation by one of the world’s most iconic and ‘instagrammable’ boutique hotel operators.”
In 2023 the Australian hotel investment market exceeded $2.3 billion in transaction volume – the second-largest year in history.
Only two hotels have sold for more than $100 million in the Asia Pacific, including the Waldorf Astoria Sydney and the Sir Stamford at Circular Quay for $210.5 million.
“The scale of this opportunity combined with Sydney’s booming hotel and tourism market is expected to underpin high levels of buyer interest from both domestic and international capital sources,” Gibson said.
Jonathan Jackson, 21st March 2024
