Chinese consortium to buy $104m Sydney hotel

A Chinese investment consortium set up in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone to pursue offshore property deals has agreed to acquire the InterContinental Sydney Double Bay hotel.  

Shanghai United Real Estate, a mainland private equity firm set up by a group of ten Chinese property investors and developers, has agreed to acquire the InterContinental Double Bay hotel in Sydney from the Singaporean real estate firm Royal Group for around A$140 million ($104.3 million; €93.3 million).

The InterContinental hotel is pegged to be the first luxury hotel to be sold in Sydney since the sale of The Westin to a joint venture between Singaporean developer Far East Land, the Housing Development Company and Sino Land, in 2015.

Craig Collins from JLL Hotels and Hospitality who advised on the sales process, said the Sydney hotel market is the strongest it has been in over two decades.

“The sale of this asset followed our strategy of recycling capital following the initial stabilisation period,” commented Peter Wilding, managing director for the Royal Group. He further added that the selling price is believed to be a record price for non-CBD hotels in Australia.

Shanghai United Real Estate, set up in the Shanghai Free Trade Area, does overseas property development, operation and management. The companies under this enterprise include China Huajian Holdings, Zobon Real Estate Group, and Shanghai Yizhang Investment Management among others.

The venture has so far invested in five property projects in Sydney, including a development project that has a hotel and residential apartments, according to a company statement.