SC Capital Hires Hotel Specialist Christopher Hur in Singapore

SC Capital Partners said on Wednesday that it has brought on board hotel investment veteran Christopher Hur as managing director for investments, based in Singapore.

With more than a decade and a half of experience specialising in hotel investment, Hur takes on his new role after eight years as chief executive of Vietnam-based Lodgis Hospitality Holdings. 

SC Capital, which controls the manager of Japan’s largest hotel REIT, in addition to making hospitality investments in South Korea and other parts of Asia, pointed to the hire as a sign of the firm’s commitment to the sector.

“Chris brings deep expertise across hospitality real estate investment, including strong experience in building and scaling institutional platforms,” Suchad Chiaranussati, chairman of SC Capital Partners said in a statement. “We are very pleased to have him join the firm, and his appointment reinforces our conviction in the lodging sector as a core strategy and positions us to capture the next phase of growth across Asia Pacific.”

Indochina Experience

Hur is expected to work closely with SC Capital’s management team to lead hospitality activity and hospitality platform strategies across the region, the company said, taking responsibility for deal origination, strategy execution and portfolio growth across the firm’s hospitality and living sector investments.

At Warburg Pincus-backed Lodgis, Hur served as chief executive of the company’s Fusion Hotel Group management division, as well as holding the title of chairman with Lodgis’ Grand Ho Tram casino near Vung Tau, Vietnam. 

“SC Capital Partners is one of the most established and well-respected investment managers in Asia Pacific, distinguished by strong local execution capabilities, a disciplined approach to capital management, and a portfolio of high-quality operating platforms,” Hur said of his new home. “I am excited to join the firm and partner with the team to build on its investment strategies – particularly in hospitality – at a time when fundamentals across key markets continue to strengthen.”

Prior to joining Lodgis in 2018, Hur spent more than eight years with US hospitality REIT Host Hotels & Resorts working both in Asia Pacific and in North America. 

Having been involved in a Host joint venture with Singapore sovereign fund GIC while working as a vice president with the REIT’s investment division, Hur was promoted to regional vice president for investment based in California, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also has previous experience with Lehman Brothers. 

Hur joins SC Capital as partner and managing director Ian Lien leaves the company this month after resigning in September following a nearly 20-year run with the firm.. 

Hot for Hospitality

SC Capital Partners closed on $900 million in capital for its sixth Asia Pacific opportunistic fund in March last year, with hospitality forming a core element of that Real Estate Capital Asia Partners VI vehicle. 

Also in March last year, CapitaLand completed the $214 million first phase of its acquisition of SC, with the Temasek Holdings-backed firm now owning a 40 percent stake in the private equity firm. The following month SC Capital announced its acquisition of a hotel in Kagoshima, Japan, under its $1 billion Japan Hospitality Fund I. 

Japan Hotel REIT, which is managed by SC Capital, has a JPY 515 billion ($3.3 billion) portfolio and a market capitalisation of JPY 429 billion.