SINGAPORE – Confirmed hotel transaction volumes in Asia reached USD 1.3 billion in H1 2013, up 85 percent on H1 2012, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s Hotels & Hospitality Group. The latest “Asia Hotel Investment (H1 2013)” report shows that the solid growth in sales activity marks the region’s strongest first half year since H1 2008.

Weight of investment into the established tourism markets of Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo, coupled with opportunistic deals in emerging markets such as Thailand and the Maldives was predominately responsible for driving growth in the region.

Mike Batchelor, Managing Director Investment Sales, Hotels & Hospitality, Jones Lang LaSalle said, “Throughout Asia, we are also aware of circa USD400 million in hotel transaction volumes to be confirmed soon and a further USD1 billion in due diligence.”

Japan’s hotel market received 37 percent of regional investment, driven by strong domestic, corporate and leisure demand following the widespread view that local market fundamentals had improved since the 2011 earthquake. Following closely, Singapore accounted for 34 percent of regional transactions, largely due to the sale of Park Hotel Clarke Quay for USD 238 million. Despite a somewhat unpredictable investment environment, Thailand continued to consolidate its position as one of Asia’s hotel investment hotspots, most notably with the Q1 2013 sale of the Laguna Beach Resort in Phuket.

Batchelor continued, “During the first half of 2013, we have seen a growing number of transactions, including those at the portfolio level, and improved investor sentiment translate to increased sales. The divergence between vendor and purchaser expectations that served to restrict investment activity in 2012, has improved this year leading to a number of landmark transactions in the first half.”

The report identifies funds, institutions and large corporates looking to restructure their portfolios, as the most prominent sellers of investment grade hotels while REITS, hotel operators and institutional investors were the most active buyer groups. However, despite the regional growth and strong investor appetite, the limited pipeline of open market listings throughout Southeast Asia has limited sales activity.

“Looking forward, the availability of investment grade assets in key cities and the growing insistence of sellers to close deals through transparent processes will dictate the overall investment landscape in the region as investors increasingly look to emerging markets. The Maldives, in particular, is a market in which we are seeing increased sales activity, including the recent sale of Angsana Velavaru for USD 71 million. We anticipate this trend to continue over the next 12 months.”

“As superannuation and other forms of capital continue to flow into REITs, we are likely to see their continued dominance in the market. This, coupled with the growing appetite of Asian private investors, owner operators and private equity players, could result in transaction volumes nearing USD3.5 billion by the end of 2013”, Batchelor concluded.

Download the full report

About Jones Lang LaSalle’s Hotels & Hospitality Group

Jones Lang LaSalle’s Hotels & Hospitality Group serves as the hospitality industry’s global leader in real estate services for luxury, upscale, select service and budget hotels; timeshare and fractional ownership properties; convention centers; mixed-use developments and other hospitality properties. The firm’s more than 265 dedicated hotel and hospitality experts partner with investors and owner/operators around the globe to support and shape investment strategies that deliver maximum value throughout the entire lifecycle of an asset. In the last five years, the team completed more transactions than any other hotels and hospitality real estate advisor in the world totalling nearly US$25 billion, while also completing approximately 4,000 advisory, valuation and asset management assignments. The group’s hotels and hospitality specialists provide independent and expert advice to clients, backed by industry-leading research.

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About Jones Lang LaSalle

Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) is a professional services and investment management firm offering specialized real estate services to clients seeking increased value by owning, occupying and investing in real estate. With annual revenue of $3.9 billion, Jones Lang LaSalle operates in 70 countries from more than 1,000 locations worldwide. On behalf of its clients, the firm provides management and real estate outsourcing services to a property portfolio of 2.6 billion square feet and completed $63 billion in sales, acquisitions and finance transactions in 2012. Its investment management business, LaSalle Investment Management, has $47.7 billion of real estate assets under management.

Jones Lang LaSalle has over 50 years of experience in Asia Pacific, with over 25,400 employees operating in 76 offices in 14 countries across the region. The firm was named ‘Best Property Consultancy’ in nine Asia Pacific countries at the International Property Awards Asia Pacific 2012, in association with HSBC, and was named the number one real estate advisory firm in Asia Pacific in the Euromoney Real Estate Awards 2012.

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