iProsperity swoops on AccorInvest portfolio

Fund manager iProsperity has swooped on the AccorInvest portfolio in what will be the largest hotels deal of the year.

The ibis Hotel near Sydney airport.

The slow year for hotel deals is ­finally picking up pace with fund manager iProsperity swooping on the AccorInvest portfolio for a price of less than $250m in what will still be the largest transaction of the year.

The group, which has been carving out a name as a fund manager locally and by sourcing funds in Asia, has acquired the properties, some of which were sold with vacant possession, giving the new owner a chance to boost their performance.

The deal breaks the drought of major hotel transactions this year and more are on the horizon with Royal Group Holdings in due diligence to buy Sydney’s Sofitel Wentworth Hotel for more than $300m. But a lot of the action may be for middle-market style hotels, which are forecast to outperform.

In the last month, two Sydney properties have traded as sales pick up, partly as buyers see the lower dollar prompting a lift in tourism.

Funds manager Tyche Capital Investments bought the Veriu Central Hotel in Sydney’s Wentworth Avenue in a near $60m sale and leaseback deal.

The Yeh’s Group also bought the Seasons Harbour Plaza Sydney for about $70m in one of the city’s first major strata hotel deals.

The latest iProsperity purchase is for a larger platform. Buying the AccorInvest portfolio will give it control of a mix of 23 properties and leased interests in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Perth, along with several major regional cities.

The Australian flagged iProsperity’s purchase last November. JLL Hotels & Hospitality’s Craig Collins and Peter Harper are handling the sale but declined to comment, as did ­iProsperity.

The firm last year bought the five-star Pullman on the Park near the Melbourne Cricket Ground from Canadian real estate giant Brookfield.

The AccorInvest portfolio spans 17 owned properties, comprising 1797 rooms. Four are branded ibis hotels, and the other 13 are ibis Budget hotels.

Notable assets include the ibis Hotel & Apartments Melbourne, ibis Sydney Airport and ibis Budget Sydney Olympic Park.

The six lease interests include The COMO Mgallery by Sofitel in Melbourne, the Novotel, Mercure and ibis hotels in Brisbane and the Mercure and ibis hotels in Perth.

AccorInvest is the spun-off hotel investment platform of Paris-listed AccorHotels.

A 57.8 per cent stake in the vehicle was sold to GIC, PIF, Credit Agricole Assurances, Colony NorthStar and Amundi, and other investors for €4.6 billion ($7.5bn) last year.