Salter Brothers acquires Travelodge portfolio for over $600 million
As seen on-line at hotelmanagement.com
James Wilkinson – July 28, 2021
Major hotel investors Salter Brothers have acquired Mirvac and NRMA’s Travelodge portfolio of 11 properties for a record AU$620 million.
The 11 properties – the largest ever hotel portfolio offered for sale in Australia – have been purchased by Salter Brothers under a new Australian Hospitality Sector joint venture with Singaporean sovereign wealth fund, GIC and leading private markets investment firm, Partners Group.
The transaction, which was negotiated by Sam McVay of McVay Real Estate, marks the first acquisition of the joint venture, which the businesses say will creating a platform of scale and geographic diversification across Australia.
Salter Brothers Managing Director, Paul Salter, said: “The transaction enables us to capitalise on the evolving hospitality sector in Australia, positioning for growth and adding value to the portfolio via targeted capital expenditure and rebranding where appropriate.”
The portfolio of 2032 midscale hotel rooms located across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Newcastle currently operates under the Travelodge brand, with Salter Brothers anticipating that “following an operator selection process, the hotels will operate under a new brand post settlement”.
At this stage, no operator has been revealed, although HMunderstands discussions are underway with several leading chains with brands of global significance.
Salter said the portfolio will benefit from the “already proven Salter Brothers hotel asset management capability, with the Group planning to reposition the assets”.
Salter Brothers Director of Funds Management, Niall McCarthy, said: “This significant joint venture demonstrates confidence in the Australian hospitality sector and confidence in our experienced management team with proven deal sourcing capability, active hotel asset management skills and our value-add capabilities, which will all be actively deployed across this portfolio.
“Following this acquisition, we are well placed to progress towards acquiring further assets in this sector,” he said.
The acquisition is expected to complete by the end of 2021.