Hotel property market set to come to life in second half of 2010
Host Hotels recently brought the Le Meridien Piccadilly hotel from Starman
Chris Druce, 30/07/2010 07:55
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Hotel buyers are returning to the sector with the second half of the year expected to herald a significant jump in activity lead by the UK.
Property agent Jones Lang LaSalle expects transaction volumes to double over the £1.3bn achieved in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) market in the first half of 2010.
The UK, which has been the most active market within Europe in the first six months of the year with £251m of deals done, is set to retain its premier position during the second half.
Good time to invest
Jones Lang LaSalle said that hotel operators, institutional investors and investment funds/private equity have shown a strong appetite, accounting for nearly 65 per cent of all hotel deals in the first half.
The property agent suggests this shows that sophisticated investors believe it is a good time to buy and are enjoying reduced competition for assets, as many of the high leverage buyers have fallen out of the market post credit-crunch.
Doubling of transactions
Mark Wynne Smith, chief executive for EMEA at Jones Lang LaSalle, said: “The market conditions experienced over the first half of 2010 are reminiscent of what we saw in 2002.
“The second half of 2002 saw a doubling of transaction volume and I anticipate that we will see a similar outcome over the remainder of this year.”