Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen – a three-star hotel launched in February 2009 has been put up for sale through a private tender.
The results will not be announced until July, though many market watchers are estimating that the hotel could fetch over $200 million.
The 538-room hotel is jointly owned by property investor LaSalle Investment Management and hospitality group Accor, which also owns the Ibis brand, in a 70:30 share. According to previous reports, both companies have put in $145 million to develop the hotel after winning the site in a tender four years ago.
The tender is being handled by Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels. Mike Batchelor, the company’s managing director of investment sales in Asia, said that private tender for the property started last month. As part of the transaction, Accor will still operate the hotel under a long-term management agreement, in other words, the Ibis brand will stay.
The owners have been getting "a number of unsolicited approaches from investors" to purchase the hotel, said Mr. Batchelor. As a result, "they decided to formally offer the asset for sale."
Interest in Ibis Singapore has come largely from high net worth individuals and private families, not just in Singapore but also from neighbouring countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, he added.
Several market watchers felt that the hotel is an attractive asset, given the fact that the property is still new, well located and has been performing well. Evan Lewis, Accor’s Asia Pacific spokesman, said that over the past three months, the hotel has "achieved occupancies in the mid-90 percent with an average rate of around $140."
A consultant who declined to be named said that "hotels in Singapore are very difficult to come by" so there will be demand. "It’s only about whether the pricing is sensible enough."