Brookfield Fuels Hotel Plans with $207m NZ Acquisitions

Alternative asset manager Brookfield has put its foot on two New Zealand hotels as it looks to expand its upscale hotel platform. 

The global alternative asset manager has picked up the four-star Rydges Wellington, a 280-key CBD hotel at 75 Featherston Street with conference suits, restaurants and bars; and the 84-room Sofitel Queenstown in the South Island tourist town, a five-star property with penthouses and suites, a French-inspired spa and 1920s-themed gin bar. 

It is spending $207 million (NZ$250 million) to acquire and reposition the assets, it said. 

Both were part of a portfolio of hotels put up for sale last year by NZ Hotel Holdings, a partnership between NZ Super Fund, Russell Property Group and the Lockwood Property Group 

The partnership was founded in 2019 to develop hotel assets in Aotearoa. 

The portfolio was the largest brought to market in New Zealand, according to reports last year. 

CBRE’s Michael Simpson, Peter Hamilton and Nick Hill managed the sale via an expressions-of-interest-campaign.

▲ The Rydges Wellington has been acquired by Brookfield.

The acquisitions by Brookfield signal the asset manager’s plans to expand its Asia Pacific hospitality portfolio, having already bought Hotel X in Brisbane, as well as the Hotel Gajoen, Tokyo as part of its acquisition of the Gajoen mixed-use precinct.

It also signed a joint venture agreement with Tainui Group Holdings to develop the Ruakura Logistics Intermodal Superhub at Hamilton, expanding its industrial stake in New Zealand.

Brookfield co-head of Australia real estate Ruban Kaneshamoorthy said it was committed to expanding in prime markets with strong long-term fundamentals. 

“We see significant potential to enhance their performance through active asset management and targeted capital investment,” Kaneshamoorthy said.

CBRE’s Michael Simpson said the acquisition of the landmark properties “demonstrates the continued appetite for high-quality hotel assets in prime New Zealand locations”. 

The largest single hotel asset sale in New Zealand was completed last year when Ong Beng Seng’s Singapore-based Hotel Properties Ltd acquired the 139-key InterContinental Hotel Auckland for $138.5 million.