Largest hotel sale in New Zealand of 2020 Sofitel Queenstown sold by Colliers
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Largest hotel sale in New Zealand of 2020 Sofitel Queenstown sold by Colliers
Contracts have been exchanged in what is the second major Queenstown hotel sale in a matter of weeks brokered by Dean Humphries, National Director of Colliers International’s Hotels team, the five-star Sofitel Queenstown Hotel & Spa will join the wider $300+ million hotel portfolio established by the Russell & Lockwood Property Groups in partnership with the New Zealand Superannuation Fund under the New Zealand Hotel Holdings Asset LP ('NZHHALP') entity.
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ColliersContracts have been exchanged in what is the second major Queenstown hotel sale in a matter of weeks. Brokered by Dean Humphries, National Director of Colliers International’s Hotels team.The five-star Sofitel Queenstown Hotel & Spa will join the wider $300+ million hotel portfolio established by the Russell & Lockwood Property Groups in partnership with the New Zealand Superannuation Fund under the New Zealand Hotel Holdings Asset LP ('NZHHALP') entity.
The five-star Sofitel Queenstown Hotel and Spa is set to change hands in what will be New Zealand’s most significant hotel transaction of 2020.
The deal follows the sale of the 65-room Discovery Lodge in Queenstown, announced last month. Both transactions were brokered by Dean Humphries, National Director of Colliers International’s Hotels team.Contracts have been exchanged in what is the second major Queenstown hotel sale in a matter of weeks. The five-star Sofitel Queenstown Hotel & Spa will join the wider $300+ million hotel portfolio established by the Russell & Lockwood Property Groups in partnership with the New Zealand Superannuation Fund under the New Zealand Hotel Holdings Asset LP ('NZHHALP') entity.
Dean Humphries told WILLIAMS MEDIA “A terrific transaction to be part of, a real team effort behind the scenes to reach a great result for multiple owners, being one of the first collective deals in New Zealand.”
Brett Russell, Managing Director of the Russell Property Group notes that "the Sofitel Queenstown is a quality asset that is a strategic addition to the partnership's portfolio. The hotel is one of the country's best performing assets and provides exposure to one of New Zealand's premier tourist destinations".
Located on a strategic parcel of leasehold land in the heart of Queenstown, the hotel comprises 82 luxurious guest rooms together with a multitude of retail/commercial units. Originally developed in 2005, the hotel was subsequently sold down as a multi-title development to a range of local and offshore investors. In 2010, local businessman Graham Wilkinson secured a controlling stake in the property and has since been working on a consolidation model for the property.
Wilkinson notes "in Q1 2020, the opportunity arose to introduce the hotel to the Russell Property Group which has now led to the unconditional sale of the hotel to NZHHALP. While the property had performed well, it was the right time for a new investor to take the asset forward".
NZ Super Fund's head of direct investments Will Goodwin adds "one of the fund's strategic objectives is to add assets in provincial tourism centres to complement its existing portfolio of assets in gateway cities like Auckland and Christchurch. We demonstrated that with the Rotorua acquisition at the start of the year and it's great to be closing off 2020 with a major purchase in the visitor hotspot of Queenstown".
Despite some of the short term difficulties arising from the global Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Russell said the acquisition reflected the partnership's confidence in the long term future of the industry.
Accor, one of the world's largest hotel management companies will continue to operate the hotel with all staff and operations remaining the same.
The multi-million dollar deal is the largest hotel transaction in Queenstown since the Novotel Queenstown Lakeside was exchanged in 2015 and will settle in early 2021. This will bring the total number of hotels in the partnership portfolio to five, joining the Four Points by Sheraton Auckland, Adina Auckland Britomart, Holiday Inn Rotorua and the BreakFree hotel in Christchurch.
