JLL Hotels and Hospitality has facilitated a binding agreement between Dr Jerry Schwartz and a US private equity firm, understood to be KSL Capital Partners, for the purchase of Four Points by Sheraton Sydney Central Park.
Managed by JLL Hotels and Hospitality Managing Director, Mark Durran, the hotel sale is understood to be in the area of AUD$150 million.
“I prefer to buy hotels in Sydney, not to sell given the historic difficulty in getting into this market due to the high barriers to entry, but it is prudent for me to rebalance my portfolio at this time,” Dr Schwartz said.
The acquisition by KSL further bolsters the firm’s investment portfolio in Australia, which also includes a majority stake in luxury lodge operator, Baillie Lodges.
Having first opened in late 2018, the 297-room Four Points by Sheraton Sydney Central Park is part of a major mixed-use development across the road from the University of Technology in Sydney. In its first full year of operation in 2019, the hotel achieved a year-long average occupancy of 85%, backed by strong corporate and leisure demand.
The hotel also features a restaurant and bar, meeting and event facilities and a fitness centre. Approvals have also been granted for the hotel to add 11 new rooms and a distillery along with an outdoor terrace.
Four Points by Sheraton Sydney Central Park is positioned in a pocket of the Sydney CBD in line for extensive redevelopment in the coming years, with the NSW Government zoning the area as a key technology and innovation hub which will see companies such as Atlassian set up global headquarters within a major new tower to be constructed nearby.
Durran said the sale reinforced Sydney’s global appeal among the investment community following a “hiatus in major transactional activity during 2020”.
“We anticipate Sydney will be one of the most liquid hotel investment markets in Asia Pacific this year as cashed up investors seek to acquire quality portfolios and prime luxury and upscale hotel assets,” he said.
The sale comes a few months removed from another major Sydney hotel asset changing hands when Pro-invest Group picked up the former Primus Hotel, which will be converted into Kimpton Sydney later this year.
“With the rebound we’re seeing month-on-month and with occupancies improving in Sydney, the market cycle has reset and offshore buyers in particular are looking to take advantage of any quality, prime hotel that’s available, particularly in Sydney, which is Australia’s global destination and where the focus is.
“We anticipate an active next 12 months of transactions,” Durran added.