Sydney Olympic Park hotels on the market

In what could be the year’s biggest hotel transaction, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is putting its flagship hotels at Sydney Olympic Park on the market.

The authority, the world’s third-largest sovereign investment fund, is looking to capitalise right at the top of the cycle.

As a result, it’s selling off a series of smaller hotels around the country.

The likely result is that it will be left holding just a clutch of hotels in Sydney’s Darling Harbour.

That fits in perfectly with its model of owning premium hotels in major global capitals.

The sale of the 600-plus room offering which includes the 177-room Novotel Olympic Park, 212-room Pullman at Sydney Olympic Park, and the 144-room Ibis Sydney Olympic Park is expected to pull in $600 million.

And the sale is also expected to include the 156-room Ibis Budget Sydney Olympic Park, previously operated as a Formula One hotel.

ADIA acquired the Tourism Asset Holdings portfolio five years ago.

It paid about $745 million.

Since then, it has restructured its holdings and sold off key properties, including the Mercure Melbourne Treasury Gardens Hotel.

It also capitalised on the rise in business travel with Sydney hotels experiencing strong trading performance driven by record international tourist arrivals.

ADIA sold a $200 million portfolio of 15 Ibis hotels to French hotel giant Accor. That 1595-room east coast hotel portfolio was bought by Accor’s property investment arm, HotelInvest.

The Olympic Park sites sell off coincides with the NSW government planning to push ahead of the Sydney Olympic site, including the redevelopment of the ANZ stadium.

ADIA snapped up the portfolio of Olympic hotels in 2013.

It was at the time the nation’s largest hotel transaction and the portfolio of 31 hotels at that stage made ADIA the country’s largest hotel owner.

ADIA has appointed agents Jones Lang LaSalle and Savills to sell the hotels which form part of the 640 hectare Sydney Olympic Park at Homebush in Sydney’s west.

Leon Getler 8th May 2018.