CDL one of the largest real estate companies in Singapore has agreed to acquire Sofitel Brisbane Central Hotel, the biggest hotel in Brisbane, Australia from Canada’s Brookfield Asst Management.
A JV equally owned by it Millennium & Copthorne Hotels and M&C New Zealand hospitality subsidiaries will pay A$177.7 mn about $119mn to acquire the 30-storey landmark 5-star hotel.
Located in Brisbane’s Central Business District the hotel has 416 rooms, nine meetings and conference rooms that can accommodate upto 1,100 people and is directly linked to the Central Station.
Brookfield the alternative asset management company headquartered in Toronto, Canada acquired the hotel in 2012 as part of it’s A$410-mn tower takeover of listed hotel owner Thakral Holdings.
The asset manager put the hotel up for sale in October. It had hoped to sell the hotel for as much as A$220mn back in 2013 as part of a five-asset offering. CDL which is chaired by billionaire Kwek Leng Beng and 49% owned by the Hong Leong Group said it is paying about A$427,000per key for the Sofitel Brisbane Central Hotel.
The proposed acquisition marks CDL’s entry into Brisbane’s hospitality sector although it has been actively developing projects in the city and the country. In 2018 it completed Ivy and Eve an iconic 472-unit luxury residential project in Brisbane. The group’s REIT associate CDL Hospitality Trusts also owns two hotels in Australia-Mecure Perth and Ibis Perth.
“The acquisition presents an attractive opportunity for the Group to enlarge our presence in Australia and enhance our recurring income stream,” Kwek said. He added that Brisbane is amongst the key hospitality markets in Australia that have enjoyed the strongest RevPAR in 2022 significantly exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
Brisbane’s pipeline of over A$20 bn in infrastructure projects is also expected to further enhance the city’s position as a world-class sporting, tourism and business events destination.
