Sydney’s Largest CBD Hotel Transaction this year sold by HTL Property and Stonebridge Property Group

The 5 Star ‘Skye Suites Sydney’ Hotel, together with the accompanying ‘Our Skittle Place Retail’ has been sold following a hotly contested sale process.

The publicly advertised sale, which was managed by agents Stonebridge Property Group and HTL Property; procured in excess of 300 enquiries, and over 20 formal offers received at the close of first round bids.

The impressive hotel, which commenced operation in late 2018, comprises a 73-key high-end serviced apartment offering, operating under the Skye Suites hotel brand. Located within the Arc by Crown building, a strata complex featuring a rooftop courtyard & lounge, modern gymnasium; and an award-winning lap pool.

The offering also included the ‘Our Skittle Place’ Retail precinct, comprising six retail outlets located on the ground floor of the development; providing approximately 918sqm of lettable area, and anchored by national operator Soul Origin.

The landmark property is prominently located in the Central Sydney business and tourism precinct; and forms part of a larger 25 storey mixed-use development known as Arc by Crown; which includes 173 residential apartments.

Sydney stands out as one of the most attractive hotel investment markets in the Asia-Pacific, alongside Tokyo as the two most popular destinations for international capital” advised HTL Property’s National Director of Accommodation, Andrew Jackson.

“According to NAB’s most recent Commercial Property Survey, investor sentiment in Australia’s commercial property market has hit an eight-year high this past quarter, with CBD hotels leading the charge as the asset class investors have the most confidence in” added Jackson.

“The over-sized suites, high specification of finishes and recent construction were all contributory factors to attracting the ‘who’s who’ of bidders and driving Sydney’s biggest hotel sale this year” advised Stonebridge Property’s National Director, Lincoln Blackledge.

“The excellent trading performance as well as the ability to purchase the hotel with or without the existing business broadened the appeal of the offering and led to the intense bidding” added Blackledge.

The level of interest dictated the need for a short-listed 2nd round bidding process, where only select bidders were invited to participate in a final bids process. This strategy effected the desired result of a sharpening of both pricing and terms, with the offering ultimately selling to an international investor, nudging out other offshore interest and local suitors.

The Hotel will continue to trade under the Skye Suites brand, while exploring complementary tenancies to round-out the lively ground level retail precinct, so as to further enhance this thriving Sydney CBD precinct. The Sydney CBD hotel market continues to strengthen in early 2025, building on the momentum observed throughout 2024. Recent STR data for January 2025 (Sydney TR) shows substantial improvements in performance metrics across the key indicators of occupancy, average daily room rate (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPAR).

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