Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has sold the 237-room Marriott London Grosvenor Square hotel for £125.15 million ($207.7 million), or approximately £528,000 per key ($877,000).
The hotel was sold to an affiliate of Hong Kong based private equity firm Joint Treasure and remains subject to a ground lease with 43 years remaining on the term. The Company was advised by JLL on the sale of the hotel.
The hotel is located just metres away from London’s retail and business precincts of Oxford Street, Park Lane, Regent Street, Bond Street and Berkeley Square, and was sold with the benefit of a long term management agreement to Marriott.
The West End hotel offers extensive conference and private dining facilities and is home to Gordon Ramsay’s Michelin starred restaurants Maze and Maze Grill.
Continuing interest in London hotel investments
George Nicholas, Executive Vice President in JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality group, who negotiated the sale, commented: “The sale represents yet another vote of confidence in the London hotel investment market, and successfully completes Strategic Hotels & Resorts’ objective of exiting the asset.
“The formal sale process attracted over a dozen offers from investors who are still seeking to place capital in to London hotel real estate. Both Asian and Middle Eastern investors remain the most eager”.
Recent research conducted by JLL into the London Hotel market shows that investors from Asia and the Middle East continue to be attracted to London hotel assets. 2013 trends in this sector suggest that US based private equity funds and other investors are increasingly looking towards Europe and London.