US buyers circle hotel near MCG
Two of the world’s largest property investors, Connecticut-based Starwood Capital Group and New York-headquartered private equity firm Blackstone, are among the major bidders vying for a Melbourne hotel positioned between the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the CBD in a $200 million deal.
The Pullman on the Park Hotel is one of Melbourne’s largest properties and has just undergone a $12.5 million refurbishment of its lobby and popular front bar.
The hotel, the largest listing of the year, is being sold by Canadian real estate giant Brookfield.
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Sources close to the deal says it had attracted significant attention from offshore groups with three major purchasers vying for it.
Starwood Capital struck up a venture to back local group Arrow Property Investments. The pair and Western Australia-based Pindan Capital bought a St Leonards site on Sydney’s north shore for more than $160 million in December.
The Pullman on the Park hotel in East Melbourne.
Last year Starwood moved into Melbourne, joining with Jeff Xu’s Golden Age Group to develop a $600 million luxury residential tower and manage a hotel.
Blackstone has a big appetite for hotels globally and has $6 billion worth of office buildings, shopping centres and warehouses around Australia.
McVay Real Estate’s Dan and Sam McVay and JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group’s Peter Harper and Craig Collins are handling the sale but declined to comment. The five-star hotel, at 192 Wellington Rd, East Melbourne, has 419 rooms, conference facilities, a 1000-seat ballroom and parking for 215 cars.
It was previously known as Hilton on the Park.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
