Asian conglomerate buys Glasgow, Scotland, hotel

Less than a year after it went on the market, the Hotel Indigo Glasgow (Scotland) has new ownership.

Maven Property, the property arm of Maven Capital Partners, has completed the £14.5-million sale of the 94-bedroom hotel to Heeton Holdings, a Singapore-listed real estate conglomerate as well as property investment group KSH and construction group Lian Beng. Heeton holds an effective interest of 60 percent while KSH and Lian Beng have effective interests of 20 percent each.

The structure of the transaction includes the sale of the freehold interest in the hotel to a ground rent fund and of the resultant long leasehold interest to Heeton. Maven predicts that splitting these two interests will drive additional value for its investors.

The hotel will continue to operate under a franchise agreement with IHG under the lifestyle Indigo brand, and will be managed by Interstate Hotels & Resorts.
 
“This historical landmark building is located in the heart of one of the UK’s most vibrant and cosmopolitan cities,” said Ramsay Duff, investment director at Maven, in a statement. “Maven has a strong commitment to Glasgow, with our headquarters here and with two other hotels including our recently opened ibis Styles Glasgow Centre West. The city remains one of the best performing hotel market in the UK, however there have been relatively few hotel transactions in the city and it has been gratifying to see the level of interest in the Indigo.
 
“We are delighted to have completed the sale, which has delivered attractive returns for investors, in part by the way we structured the transaction. The hotel was one of the very first developments to be funded utilizing business premises renovation allowance and it is very satisfying to see it having come right through the entire process; from its original redevelopment, subsequent years of successful trading, and its ultimate sale.” 

Real estate advisers JLL and Cushman & Wakefield marketed the hotel on Maven's behalf.