UK hotel investment reaches £3.2b in first half of 2018

Investment in UK hotels reached £3.2b in the first half of 2018, a 28% increase year on year.

Real estate company Savills said the market had been driven by portfolio sales, which accounted for 71% of transactions, amounting to £2.3b.

Due to the predominance of large, multiple site sales, the deal count fell year on year from 107 to 79.

Overseas buyers accounted for 51% of transactions, amounting to £1.6b, with Israeli and Canadian investors the most active, representing 24% and 14% of transactions respectively.

Domestic investors accounted for £1.6b in terms of value, but 71% of deals completed in the period.

London hotels accounted for 38% of the total investment during the period, across 11 deals including the sale of 5 Strand by real estate developer ABIL Group for more than £90m and Crosstree's acquisition of the RE Hotel in Shoreditch.

The south east was the second most popular region, accounting for 23% of investment, followed by the north with 15%.

Martin Rogers, head of UK hotel transactions at Savills, said: "This year has got off to a strong start, driven by several high-profile portfolio transactions. The UK hotel market remains attractive to both domestic and overseas investors, providing something for everyone due to the range on offer from single regional hotels to trophy assets in London. Looking ahead, we expect the market to remain active and predict the total for 2018 investment to reach around £5.4 billion."

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