Another Singapore private equity firm has invested in a hotel located in London.
Prima Asset Management acquired the 68-room Victoria Garden Hotel at 100-102 Westbourne Terrace in London's Paddington district. This is the Singapore-based private equity real estate investor's first venture into the London market.
The sale price is undisclosed, but Prima plans to renovate the hotel and add a further 12 or so guestrooms. The company said that would give the asset a value of more than $70 million and recast the property as a boutique hotel.
London-based Capilon Group will develop and operate the freehold property, which is an 1840 building that was originally two grand homes.
According to CoStar, the Paddington hotel opened in June 1965 and has a Grade II-listed façade.
LoopNet listed the hotel’s guide price in 2016 or 2017 as £25 million ($31.7 million). According to that document, Westbourne Terrace’s “fine buildings are still intact in this impressive, wide tree-lined avenue, which is probably now unique in London for the preservation of [its] fine nineteenth century architectural style.”
The Royal Air Force occupied what would become the hotel during World War II.
“With London recording the second-highest international tourism arrivals globally in 2023, we are confident in the long-term prospects the city has to offer as it remains an attractive and robust investment destination,” said Birbal Singh Bajaj, Prima’s co-founder and partner.
Founded in 2020, Prima is funded by Baksh Capital, where Singh Bajaj is managing director.
Singapore's Private Equity on the Move
Singaporean private equity firms and real estate investment trusts has been on a hotel buying spree in 2024.
On May 14, Singapore-based Copthorne Hotel Holdings, a division of City Developments Ltd., acquired the 268-room Hilton Paris Opéra for €240 million ($259 million), or €895,522 per room, from the Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe IV Fund.
In February, fellow Singaporean firm Sun Venture acquired the 280-room Hyatt Place London City East.