UK hotel deals in 2017 reach £5.4b

Hotel investment figures of £5.4b last year were driven by the high level of individual transactions stemming from the break-up of larger portfolios bought in 2014 and 2015, according to real estate company Savills.

The total number of hotel acquisitions last year represented a 32% increase from the £4.1b worth of deals achieved in 2016 and was 51% above the 10-year average of £3.6b.

Savills said that 60% of the 219 deals involved individual property sales, with the average price per key rising from £104,255 to £145,303 over the past 12 months.

Key transactions in 2017 included the sale of the 495-bedroom Grosvenor House, A JW Marriott hotel to US-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp for an undisclosed sum and the £80.2m purchase of the Sloane Club in Chelsea by Queensway and Clearbell Capital.

International buyers accounted for 44% of all deals, with the US accounting for £840m of acquisitions, followed by Sweden (£680m), which was boosted by the sale of Jurys Inn to Pandox, and Singapore (£382m).

Martin Rogers, head of UK hotel transactions, said last year was "a fantastic one" for investment in UK hotels as appetite for assets came from both domestic and overseas sources. "The popularity of the UK has been boosted in 2017 by the rise of the staycation and the stability following the EU referendum in 2016. We expect this popularity to continue as hotels move further into the mainstream."

Jurys Inn sold for £800m >>

Queensway and Clearbell acquire the Sloane Club for £80.6m >>

Hotel investments for 2017 set to beat last year's figures >>
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