New York-listed Brookfield Asset Management plans $250m purchase of Rydges Wellington, Sofitel Queenstown
Sold: Rydges Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The US$75 billion New York Stock Exchange-listed Brookfield Asset Management plans to buy two New Zealand hotels for $250 million, subject to Overseas Investment Office consent.
Ruban Kaneshamoorthy, Brookfield’s co-head of Australia real estate, said the company wanted to buy the 280-room Rydges Wellington and the 84-room Sofitel Queenstown.
Brookfield saw significant potential to enhance the two hotels’ performance, he said.
Brookfield’s ticker code is BAM. It has a market cap of US$75b, its shares trading at US$46. The company says it is a long-term New Zealand investor.
Last April, it entered a joint venture with Tainui Group Holdings to develop the Ruakura Logistics Intermodal Superhub in Hamilton.
The vendor of the Wellington and Queenstown hotels is NZ Hotel Holdings, which last May said it wanted to sell seven hotels for $600m-plus.
The New Zealand Superannuation Fund, Russell Property Group and Lockwood Property Group wanted to quit their national hotel portfolio after the record-breaking $180m InterContinental Auckland sale.
Marcus Reinders, chief executive of NZ Hotel Holdings, cited Precinct Properties’ planned sale of the hotel in One Queen to Singaporeans.
NZ Hotel Holdings’ seven hotels, with 1402 rooms, are:
- 255-room Four Points by Sheraton Auckland, 396 Queen St;
- 150-room QT Auckland, 4 Viaduct Harbour Ave, Westhaven, ex-Bayleys offices on leasehold land;
- 167-room Adina Apartment Hotel Auckland Britomart, 2 Tapora St, Britomart, Auckland;
- 203-room Rydges Rotorua, previously a Holiday Inn, 10 Tryon St, Whakarewarewa;
- 280-room Rydges Wellington, 75 Featherston St, central city;
- 263-room BreakFree on Cashel Christchurch, 165 Cashel St, central city;
- 84-room Sofitel Queenstown Hotel and Spa, 8 Duke St.
When, in July 2019, the NZ Super Fund bought into what was then a $300m portfolio, direct investments head Will Goodwin said it allowed exposure to the fast-growing tourism sector and would support the industry.
“New Zealand needs additional hotel accommodation to support both growing domestic tourism and international arrivals,” Goodwin said then.
Brett Russell of Russell Group expressed satisfaction about plans to sell two of the seven to Brookfield and said a settlement was anticipated this month.
Brookfield already owned assets in this country, he noted.
“We have interest in a couple of the others in the portfolio, too,” Russell said last night of further deals on the remaining five hotels.
NZ Hotel Holdings has also sold QT Auckland to ASX-listed entertainment, hospitality and leisure company EVT.
Reinders said the Wellington and Queenstown hotels were exceptional assets in prime destinations.
Sofitel Queenstown’s sale had achieved a record price per key in New Zealand, he said.
“We are confident the hotels will continue to perform strongly under Brookfield’s ownership. The transaction reflects the quality of the assets NZ Hotel Holdings has developed and the continued investor interest in well-located hotel properties in New Zealand,” he said.
CBRE Hotels’ Michael Simpson, Peter Hamilton and Nick Hill brokered the planned sales.
* Article updated to show QT Auckland has been sold.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 26 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
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