JLL today announced that it advised on the successful sale of the Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa and the W Maldives to a global private equity investor for an undisclosed sum. The deal represents the first ever hospitality portfolio transaction to have taken place in the Maldives.

JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group represented Universal Enterprises and Marriott International. The resorts are sold with the benefit of Marriott International management. Collectively, the sale of these two award-winning resorts represents one of the largest open-market transactions in the Maldives along with the sale by JLL of both the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island and the Anantara Dhigu, Veli & Naladhu Maldives Resort in 2019, and Cheval Blanc Randheli in 2015, reinforcing the Maldives’ position as a major institutional capital destination.

“This landmark sale serves as a testimonial to the expertise and dedication of JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality team as the leading advisor in the Indian Ocean and beyond. Despite the challenges with travel restrictions, the large transaction size and complex nature of this transaction, we engaged a broad investor base that recognized and valued the Maldives for its resilience and stature as a global gateway resort destination,” says Nihat Ercan, Head of Investment Sales, Asia Pacific, JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group.

The Sheraton Full Moon Resort & Spa provides 176 guest rooms ranging from deluxe rooms and charming cottages to stylish overwater villas and bungalows and access to nearby lagoons and pristine beaches. The resort is accessible via a short 15-minute speedboat ride from Velana International Airport.

The W Maldives offers 77 well-appointed and spacious resort villas with six restaurants and bars, within the turquoise waters of North Ari Atoll, a 25-minute seaplane flight from Velana International Airport.

With COVID-19 changing work, travel and the way we market property, JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, and its combination of the most experienced, passionate and specialized hotel industry experts in Asia Pacific, ensured that the resorts were personally presented to its extensive global network of owners and investors.

"In the Maldives, clients demand a real estate partner with comprehensive market intelligence, experience, market reach and importantly, passion. The offering of such prestigious resorts, especially with the benefit of existing management contracts with Marriott International, is extremely rare and we appreciate the significance of this transaction to our clients," says Julien Naouri, Vice President, Investment Sales Asia, JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group.