Singaporeans selling celebrity Sydney hotel

The luxury InterContinental Hotel in Sydney’s glitzy Double Bay is poised to be sold for about $140 million.

The Intercontinental Hotel, Double Bay.

The luxury InterContinental Hotel in Sydney’s glitzy Double Bay, a property best known for its association with the late INXS rocker Michael Hutchence, is poised to be sold by its Singaporean owners to a Chinese multinational for about $140 million.

The 140-room hotel — previously the Stamford Plaza and the Ritz Carlton — underwent a lavish renovation at the hands of Singapore’s Royal Brothers after they purchased the property in 2013. They reportedly ploughed $100m into the five-star hotel in Double Bay’s Cross Street, which had sat empty for at least seven years.

In a previous life the celebrity hotel was the scene of the unfortunate death of rock star Hutchence in 1997.

Following its reopening in 2014 the hotel has been on and off the market, partly as it could not match the occupancy and room rates that Sydney CBD luxury counterparts have been recording in the face of city’s room shortage.

However, its food and beverage outlets have been good performers and it offers some development upside for an incoming owner.

It has now understood to have attracted a cashed-up buyer in the form of Chinese private equity group Shanghai United, which is presently striking hotel deals throughout Sydney, as well as in apartments with Iwan Sunito’s Crown Group.

Shanghai United has just announced a partnership with French giant AccorHotels Pacific for their new luxury boutique hotel in the Sydney CBD under the MGallery by Sofitel brand. Shanghai United last year bought a corner city block in the Sydney CBD, at Bathurst and Castlereagh Streets, for $130m. With a partner in tow, Shanghai plans a landmark project of 36 levels.

Shanghai United has previously said it has plenty of cash to invest in Sydney real estate and would consider high-yielding assets for investment.

Several parties are known to have inspected the InterContinental, which many claim has reinvigorated Double Bay’s once poorly performing retail precinct, including the Laundy family.

Once completed, the sale will be another key marker for Sydney hotels. In April, funds manager Impact Investment bought the Four Points by Sheraton, Central Park and some associated office space in a deal worth about $190m.