AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets, the property arm of the French insurer, has purchased a portfolio of four hotels in Sydney and Canberra for A$330.4m (US$236m).
The portfolio is managed by AccorHotels and comprises 831 rooms in total, the buyer said in a statement.
The deal features the 5-star Pullman Sydney Olympic Park (218 rooms); the 4.5-star Novotel Sydney Olympic Park (177 rooms); the 3.5-star Ibis Sydney Olympic Park (150 rooms); and the 4.5-star Novotel Canberra (286 rooms).
“While these assets already offer strong fundamentals in their own right, they are also set to benefit greatly from a number of value-adding initiatives we have earmarked which will be further enhanced by a forecast growth in tourism and a number of transport infrastructure improvements in Canberra and Western Sydney,” said Kumar Kalyanakumar, head of Australia at AXA IM – Real Assets.
Three of the hotels are located in the Sydney Olympic Park precinct — home to the ANZ, the Spotless and Qudos stadiums, as well as other sporting and exhibition facilities.
The firm is betting on projected economic, residential and worker population growth in the city’s west, along with a growing schedule of events held in the precinct.
The final asset, Novotel Canberra, is in the capital’s CBD and is expected to benefit from the delivery of a new light rail terminal directly opposite the hotel’s entrance.
The transaction builds on AXA IM – Real Assets’ €2.3bn (US$2.6bn) portfolio of hotels globally.
AXA IM – Real Assets has €79bn (US$89.7bn) in assets under management and is part of the AXA Group.