Investor demand for South West hotels remains high says Savills

Published by

Nicky Godding

Investor demand for South West hotels remains high as transactions in the region hit in excess of £58 million year to date (Jan 2021 – Nov 2021), with Savills representing 50% of completed transactions in the region.

Across the South West the real estate advisor currently has more than £25 million of hotel assets under offer which are anticipated to complete in early 2022.

James Greenslade, director in the hotel capital markets team at Savills Exeter, said: “The South West has enduring appeal as a holiday destination but has more recently seen exceptional levels of demand. Coastal and country hotels, especially in Devon and Cornwall have been particularly popular with both investors and consumers.

“Strong demand from investors echoes the resilient operational performance of South West hotels. However, while demand has been strong there is a lack of stock in the market. This, combined with the resilience of longer term demand drivers and the weight of capital seeking to deploy in the sector, means that pricing levels will be supported going forward and competition for good quality hotels will remain high in 2022.

“The constrained debt markets in 2021 meant that investors have been predominantly cash buyers with demand coming from a variety of investors including domestic purchasers, private equity, overseas buyers and High Net Worth individuals. We are seeing signs of the debt markets opening up to the hotel sector which is expected to increase competition for assets further.”

And this appetite isn't just in the South West. In November, Savills announced that Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Cedar Capital Partners had bought The Belfry Hotel & Resort near Birmingham from an affiliate of KSL Capital Partners.

The Belfry with its three 18-hole golf courses is a four-time host of the Ryder Cup, the biennial golf competition between US and European teams. Situated within a substantial 550 acre estate, the full-service resort further features 320 guest rooms, five restaurants, a spa and multiple leisure amenities.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.