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Investment in the UK hotel industry reached £1.89bn in the first quarter (Q1) of 2015, up 47% compared to the same time last year, according to real estate advisor Savills.
The firm highlighted continued investor appetite for regional hotel assets, with only 34% of transactions taking place in London during the quarter, compared to 47% in the same period last year.
Key regional transactions included Ability Group’s £20m acquisition of the Park Inn by Radisson in Manchester and Marathon’s £27.5m purchase of the DoubleTree by Hilton in Chester.
It said there was also a “substantial” rise in portfolio acquisitions and disposals, which accounted for 65% of hotel transactions in the first quarter compared to 28% in Q1 2014.
Savills said the largest transaction of the year to date was Lone Star’s £676m purchase of the Jury’s Inn chain, while Cerberus acquired the LRG2 portfolio comprising 18 Holiday Inns for £225m.
Martin Rogers, hotels director at Savills, said: “Last year saw UK hotel transaction volumes reach an eight-year high at £6.1bn and investor confidence has remained strong throughout the first quarter of 2015.
“Given the large volume of portfolios currently in the market, we are anticipating another robust year.”
