Singapore’s City Developments Limited (CDL) has agreed to buy a five-star hotel in northeastern Australia from Brookfield Asset Management for A$177.7m (€109m).

The acquisition of the 30-storey Sofitel Brisbane asset, located in Brisbane was made through CDL’s hotel subsidiary, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, in a 50-50 joint venture with its New Zealand-listed subsidiary, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels New Zealand.

Kwek Leng Beng, CDL executive chairman, said: “The proposed acquisition marks the group’s entry into Brisbane’s hospitality sector. Brisbane is among key hospitality markets in Australia that have enjoyed the strongest RevPAR (revenue per room) recovery in 2022, significantly exceeding pre-pandemic levels.”

Kwek noted that Brisbane’s pipeline of over A$20bn in infrastructure projects would further enhance the city’s position as a world-class sporting, tourism and business events destination.

“With Brisbane being the host city for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Rugby World Cup in Australia in 2027 and 2029, the acquisition presents an attractive opportunity for the group to enlarge its presence in Australia and to enhance our recurring income stream.”

Brookfield managing partner and head of real estate in Australia Sophie Fallman said: “As a high-quality unique offering in the market, we received a high level of interest in Sofitel Brisbane during the sales process and are pleased to have reached this outcome with CDL.”

Fallman said hospitality remained an important sector for Brookfield and it continued to seek compelling opportunities around Australia as the sector rebounded post pandemic.

“We also continue to hold a long-term conviction in Brisbane real estate given the market’s underlying fundamentals and growth.”

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