Radisson Hotel to ride Sydney Convention Centre completion

The upcoming completion of the International Convention Centre at Darling Harbour and a boom in international tourism are key factors driving the sale of Sydney’s Radisson Hotel.

The Radisson Hotel and Suites has been put on the market just nine months out from the $1.5 billion centre’s official opening in December, as hotels prepare for an expected surge in patronage.

The 4.5-star hotel at 72 Liverpool St features 102 rooms and a price tag south of $50 million, but its biggest asset could be the footbridge outside its doors that will provide a direct link to the harbour’s newest attraction.

ICC Sydney has already confirmed 35 exhibition events for its maiden season in 2017, with many more reportedly in the pipeline.

Colliers International’s Raymond Tran and national director of hotels Gus Moors have been appointed to sell the property in an expressions of interest campaign that ends on April 8.

The Radisson Hotel in Sydney is set to sell ahead of the International Convention Centre opening.

The hotel’s sale will be buoyed by Sydney’s ongoing popularity amongst international and corporate travellers, with occupancy rates and revenue per available room (RevPAR) both swelling during 2015.

A JLL report into the city’s CBD and metropolitan hotel market revealed Sydney hotels enjoyed an average occupancy of 88.2% last year, while RevPAR ballooned to $243, up 7.9% on the previous year.

Tran says the city remains undersupplied for hotel rooms, which is in turn driving increasing interest from international investors looking to capitalise on that demand.

We’re anticipating strong interest from high net worth individuals and owner operators, particularly offshore buyers such as the Chinese

“The effect of Sydney’s room undersupply has seen inbound travel agencies struggling to find hotel rooms to accommodate travellers in the Sydney CBD market,” Tran says.

“Subsequently, Chinese travel groups have been seen entering the hotel acquisition market in an effort to tap into this growing investment class.”

Tran says he expects foreign investors to figure prominent among the potential buyers for the Radisson Hotel and Suites.

The International Convention Centre Sydney is due to open in December.

“We’re anticipating strong interest from high net worth individuals and owner operators, particularly offshore buyers such as the Chinese,” he says.

The hotel also features an indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, sauna, restaurant, bar and conference rooms.

Moors says the Radisson presented options and opportunities for investors.

“The property offers a range of options to an incoming purchaser, including the ability to own and operate themselves or with their preferred operator,” he says.

“Furthermore, an incoming purchaser may look to sell down the individual strata apartments to the retail investor market as a possible exit strategy.”