Hotel investment volumes in Asia soared 218% to USD 7.5b

Singapore hotel market hit new records.

Hotel investment volumes in Asia reached USD 7.5 billion at the end of 2013, up 218 percent on 2012 and defying all industry expectations, according to the latest figures from JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group. This makes 2013 the market’s strongest year post the Global Financial Crisis in 2007, when transaction volumes stood at USD 10.3 billion.

JLL forecasts 2014 to be a similarly stand-out year, although transactions volumes are likely to fall on the back of limited supply, despite strong demand.

Singapore, Japan and Mainland China led the region’s growth in 2013 with Japan topping overall investment volumes at USD 2.7 billion, up 480 percent on 2012, as hotel trading performance improved in line with the expansion of the domestic economy and renewed growth in corporate and leisure travel.

2013 was also a remarkable year for the Singapore hotel market with capital values reaching new records, resulting in transaction volumes of USD 2.0 billion, over ten times that recorded in 2012, predominantly supported by the sale of Grand Park Orchard hotel and Knightsbridge retail, the City’s largest single asset transaction to date.

In third place, China accounted for around 13 percent of total investment activity, recording USD 1.1 billion of transactions, as recent government announcements to improve access to financing drove investor sentiment over the second half of 2013.

Frank Sorgiovanni, Vice President, Research & Strategic Advisory, Hotels & Hospitality, JLL comments on the markets that will receive most investor attention throughout the year, “Japan, Indochina and the Indian Ocean may account for the majority of transaction volumes in 2014.

Investors are gradually considering emerging hotel markets such as Myanmar and Sri Lanka where deals will be opportunistic. The Singapore and Mainland China markets will also remain strong on the back of robust investor appetite.”