Mulpha Australia snaps up Rydges Esplanade Cairns for $40 million
Another Cairns hotel has been sold.
The Malaysian-backed tourism property investor and developer Mulpha Australia paid $40 million for Rydges Esplanade Cairns.
The acquisition of the four-star 242 room hotel builds on Mulpha’s portfolio of Australian hotel and leisure assets. These include One and Only Hayman Island and the Intercontinental Hotel Sydney. The stable also includes Bimbadgen Winery Estate Hunter Valley, InterContinental Sanctuary Cove, Marritz Hotel and Salzburg Apartments, Perisher Valley and Hotel Schools in Sydney and Melbourne.
The hotel features a lagoon pool, conference venues, gymnasium, tennis court as well as restaurants and bars.
Mulpha secured the hotel from an unlisted Abacus Property Group fund in an off-market deal negotiated by CBRE Hotels.
According to CBRE Hotels national director of sales, Wayne Bunz, there’s been $230 million worth of hotels sold in Cairns over the past months. They have been selling at an average price per room of $152,000,
Some of the deals have seen Rydges Tradewinds, Cairns and Novotel Oasis Cairns, changing hands.
Both of these hotels were acquired by offshore buyers.
It’s no surprise that overseas investors have targeted Cairns. It is Australia’s leading hotel market reporting record international and domestic travel numbers.
According to Smith Travel Research, average occupancy has risen 6.1 per cent to 82 per cent. At the same time, average daily room rates have increased 7.4 per cent to $133.90.
Bunz says investors are now zeroing in on tourism assets. The boom has seen inbound arrivals jumping 10 per cent over the past year.
Significantly, there’s been a lot of focus on tourism offerings in regional Australia. While 60 per cent of the hotels sold over the past year were in capital city markets, 40 per cent were regional hotels.
“Market conditions are leading investors to consider regional Australian accommodation assets,” Bunz told the Courier Mail.
The investor interest in Cairns is driven by properties there trading on yields of between 5.88 per cent and 9.3 per cent.
“This is a reflection of investors’ confidence in the market and the significant growth that is being experienced in visitor numbers,” he said.
by Leon Gettler, September 8th 2016
