The Ascott Limited, a wholly-owned lodging business unit of CapitaLand Investment (CLI), is acquiring two assets in Ningbo, China and Amsterdam, the Netherlands for S$190 million through Ascott Serviced Residence Global Fund (ASRGF), Ascott’s private equity fund with Qatar Investment Authority.
In Ningbo, ASRGF has acquired two residential towers on a turnkey basis and the project will open as the 206-unit Somerset Hangzhou Bay Ningbo in 2025. The serviced residence is located in Ningbo’s Hangzhou Bay New Town at the geographic centre of the Yangtze River Delta, China’s economic powerhouse. Somerset Hangzhou Bay Ningbo is also adjacent to the district’s advanced manufacturing industrial zone where many Fortune 500 companies have established their facilities, generating corporate demand for the serviced residence.
The acquisition in Amsterdam is a rare freehold asset which will be refurbished and unveiled as Citadines Canal Amsterdam in 2023. The 93-unit serviced residence is strategically located in the city’s Canal District, a renowned UNESCO World Heritage site. The property is also close to several regional offices of multinational corporations.
With the acquisitions of the two assets, there will be 10 properties with close to 2,000 units held under ASRGF, said CapitaLand.
According to the statement, the fund has five operational properties – Ascott Sudirman Jakarta, La Clef Champs-Élysées Paris, Citadines Islington London, lyf Funan Singapore and Quest NewQuay Docklands Melbourne. Properties under development include lyf Gambetta Paris, Ascott’s first lyf-branded coliving property in Europe, and Somerset Metropolitan West Hanoi. Both properties were acquired in June 2021 and are expected to open in 2024. Citadines Walker North Sydney is slated to launch in December 2022.
”Ascott’s key differentiator is our unique position as a vertically-integrated global lodging business with a strong foothold in Asia. We have expertise across the full value chain, from deal sourcing, investment, asset and fund management, as well as award-winning hospitality operations to generate the required returns for our capital partners. We will continue to work with our capital partners to grow our FUM through investment vehicles such as ASRGF and our newly established Student Accommodation Development Venture (SAVE), adding to the fee income stream from our asset management and property management capabilities,” said Kevin Goh, CLI’s CEO for Lodging.
