Singaporean REIT Buys London And Dublin Hotels For £275M In Bet On Travel Recovery
A Singaporean investor has bought a pair of hotels, one in central London and another in central Dublin, for a combined value of £275M (€320M), in a deal it says will allow it to tap into a recovery in travel spending.
CapitaLand Ascott Trust, which owns hotels across the world and has a market capitalisation of £2B (€2.32B), bought The Cavendish in London and The Temple Bar Hotel in Dublin, it said in a stock market announcement.
The two properties were bought from The Ascott Ltd., one of the companies that manages the REIT. It is the first time the trust has invested in Dublin and adds to a portfolio of four Citadines aparthotels in London.
The 230-room Cavendish is on Jermyn Street in the St. James’s area of London’s West End. CapitaLand said it bought the hotel at a property value of £215M and plans to invest in room upgrades that would value the property at £316M by the time the asset is stabilised in 2027. The upgrades will be undertaken on a rolling basis.
The Cavendish will be rebranded under The Crest Collection name. The property is expected to achieve an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization yield on total capitalised cost of approximately 6.5% at stabilisation, the company said.
The 136-room Temple Bar Hotel will also be renovated in 2024. The hotel, which was acquired for €70M (£60M), will have an EBITDA yield of 7.6% once stabilised, and the purchase will be made using a €35M loan.
“[The assets] are well-positioned to capture travel demand and their expected growth trajectory will continue to strengthen CLAS’ income streams,” CapitalLand Ascott Trust chief executive Serena Teo said in a press release.
“London has been one of our stronger performing markets. Our entry to Ireland offers an additional boost to our revenue. Dublin is an attractive destination for leisure visitors, home to some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, and one of the IT hubs of Europe.
“In keeping with our focus to marry growth with stability, The Cavendish London and Temple Bar Hotel provide CLAS with upside as travel demand continues to recover and downside protection through minimum guaranteed income.”
