Singapore-based investment firm CapitaLand Ascott Trust sold three hotels in Japan to an undeclared buyer for 10.7 billion Japanese yen ($75.35 million), continuing a run of late-2023 sales and acquisitions.
The three hotels in the deal are the 182-room Hotel WBF Hommachi, the 168-room Hotel WBF Kitasemba East and the 168-room Hotel WBF Kitasemba West. All three are located in the Japanese city of Osaka.
Hotel WBF is a hotel brand with 10 hotels in its portfolio, all of them Japanese. The brand has one hotel in the city of Fukuoka, four in Osaka and five on the island of Hokkaido.
“The three properties will be divested at about 15% above book value,” CapitaLand Ascott said in a news release. “Net proceeds of the divestment are expected to be about 3.9 billion yen and [we] will recognize a net gain of 1.1 billion yen.”
The Singaporean company added the deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.
Regarding the sale of the three Japanese hotels, CapitaLand Ascott’s CEO Serena Teo said, “The divestment of the three properties is part of our active portfolio reconstitution strategy. The properties are situated outside the prime districts in Osaka, and the divestment enables [us] to unlock the value of the properties, redeploying capital to assets and/or asset enhancement initiatives that can generate stronger yields, uplifting the overall value of our portfolio.”
Earlier this month, CapitaLand Ascott completed the acquisition of three hotels, two in Europe and one in Asia. The company spent £275 million ($348 million) to buy the 230-room The Cavendish in London, 136-room Temple Bar Hotel in Dublin and 185-room Ascott Kuningan Jakarta. CapitaLand Ascott already operated the Indonesian hotel under its Ascott brand.
In November, it sold two hotels in Sydney, Australia, for 109 million Australian dollars ($73 million) — the 196-room Courtyard by Marriott Sydney-North Ryde and 194-room Novotel Sydney Paramatta. The buyer was not disclosed in that deal either, but Australian media reported it was Hong Kong-based Silversea Investments.
In April, CapitaLand Ascott bought a 90-room canal-side building in Amsterdam from Accor, which had operated the property as a hotel. The sale price, according to a Dutch land registry, was €43.65 million ($47.55 million).