Novotel and ibis Darling Harbour Sell for $390 Million

Wentworth Capital, in partnership with Hong Kong-based Sun Hung Kai & Co, has acquired the Novotel and ibis Darling Harbour from Pearl Hotels, a wholly owned subsidiary of ADIA, for a combined $390 million.

The transaction was funded through Wentworth Capital’s Wentworth Real Estate Private Equity Fund I. Accor will continue to operate both hotels under long-term management agreements.

CBRE Hotels’ Michael Simpson, Andrew Williams and Nick Hill exclusively negotiated the sale. The transaction represents the largest trading hotel transaction in Sydney in four years.

The two Darling Harbour properties comprise 781 guest rooms across two market segments. Novotel Darling Harbour has 525 guest rooms, while ibis Darling Harbour has 256 guest rooms.

Novotel Darling Harbour includes two food and beverage venues, 10 meeting and event spaces, an outdoor pool, gymnasium, tennis court and secure onsite parking. ibis Darling Harbour includes the ibis Kitchen & Bar, additional meeting space and onsite parking.

Michael Simpson, managing director of CBRE Hotels, said the sale price reflected the hotels’ cash flow profile, upside opportunities and the investor pool in Sydney’s hotel market. He said large-scale assets with income, value-add opportunities and redevelopment potential continued to attract domestic and international capital.