Vincent Yeo, CEO of CDLHT’s management team
A trust affiliated with City Developments Limited (CDL), the Singaporean property heavyweight, is taking its first piece of continental Europe’s real estate market by buying the Pullman Hotel Munich for €98.9 million (about $112.3 million), the company announced this week.
CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDLHT) acquired the four-star, 337-room German hotel for a price that equates to about €281,000 ($319,157) per key. The deal marks the latest in a series of overseas acquisitions for CDL as the Singapore-listed developer continues its global expansion.
Go for the Beer, Stay for the Hotels
CDLHT is buying the hotel from Amsterdam-based Event Hospitality Group B.V. by taking a 94.5 percent stake in two project companies that own the building and its movable assets, respectively, in a deal that is expected to close around July 18.
“Munich is a compelling destination for our first acquisition in continental Europe, allowing CDLHT to benefit from a potential economic recovery in the region through exposure to the largest economy in Europe,” commented Vincent Yeo, CEO of CDLHT’s managers, in a statement. “Besides being an important business hub and trade fair destination within Germany, Munich is also home to famous cultural and sporting attractions.”
In the same announcement to the stock exchange that revealed the hotel acquisition, CDLHT also introduced a S$255.4 million ($184.2 million) share issue, with the proceeds ear marked for paying down the company’s existing debt.
The Pullman Hotel Munich is conveniently located in Germany’s third-largest city
The Pullman Hotel Munich is located in the district of Schwabing, close to a major business park hosting companies from Amazon to Microsoft, and is just a 12-minute subway ride from the city’s central square. CDLHT noted that its first foray into Germany’s third-largest city, famous for the Oktoberfest beer festival, is a strategic move to enter a prized hospitality market. The investment also offers an attractive spread between the property’s yield and ultra-low borrowing rates in Europe. The hotel generated a net property income yield of 5.6% for the fiscal year 2016.
The freehold property was opened in 1986 and fully refurbished in 2012. Following the transaction, the property will continue to be leased and operated by Germany’s EVENT Hotels, which is also a 5.1 percent shareholder in the asset.
Millennium and Copthorne Owner Builds Up a Global Portfolio
The deal brings the total number of hotels and resorts in CDLHT’s global portfolio to 19, with most of the existing properties located in Singapore and Australia. The 5,414 room, S$2.7 billion ($1.9 billion) portfolio also includes assets in gateway cities in New Zealand, Japan, and the UK, as well as the Maldives. The trust also owns a shopping mall.
CDLHT is managed by subsidiaries of CDL’s London-listed hotel chain operator Millennium and Copthorne Hotels. The deal marks the latest in a string of overseas acquisitions by CDL, which picked up a residential site in London’s Battersea district for £58 million ($72.4 million) this past February and scooped up a hotel in the British city of Manchester for £52.9 million ($68.3 million) through its CDLHT affiliate in May.
The Singaporean residential and commercial builder also took a stake in the Chinese co-working startup Distrii for RMB 72 million ($10.5 million) in January.
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