W Hotel Edinburgh on the market

W Hotel Edinburgh has been put up for sale just seven months after opening, after part-owners Nuveen Real Estate revealed it has wider plans for the development.

The freehold of the full-service, 244-bedroom hotel, which was developed, opened and operated under a long-term hotel management agreement with Marriott International, is being marketed by Savills and Eastdil Secured.

The St James Quarter property was seven years in the making and is part of a wider 1.7m sq ft mixed-use scheme that also includes an 850,000 sq ft retail gallery and the New Eidyn residential development, which has 152 apartments.

According to Nuveen, the overall development has an estimated investment value in excess of £1b.

W Hotel Edinburgh spans 10 storeys and includes a Sushisamba restaurant, a recording studio, spa, meeting rooms and a panoramic roof terrace.

Robert Stapleton, head of hotel capital markets at Savills, said: “We’re pleased to be appointed on the sale of the W Edinburgh. The quality of the development is absolutely outstanding and, being positioned in the centre of St James Quarter, Edinburgh’s busiest and best retail district, the hotel benefits from both an exceptional location, but also phenomenal footfall which delivers strong demand for both the food and beverage and bedroom offerings at the W Edinburgh.

“The hotel is best-in-class in Edinburgh and requires no additional capital expenditure. We’re confident that the hotel will attract significant interest from global investors.”

Steve Wicks, head of retail, Europe at Nuveen Real Estate, which previously owned a 25% stake in St James Quarter, added: “Having spent the last eight years investing to develop the now iconic quarter in the heart of Edinburgh, the time has come for us to sell our interest in line with our wider business plan for the development.

“The site and hotel are a resounding success story, both in terms of trading and the impact they have had on the city more generally, and we are immensely proud of the quarter we have created.”

W Hotel Edinburgh and the surrounding shops and amenities will continue to operate as normal during the sales process.

Marriott International confirmed neither the hotel group nor its affiliates are the owners of W Hotel Edinburgh and therefore have no involvement in the proposed sale of the property.