TORONTO — The first quarter of 2018 saw sustained investor interest in Canadian lodging investments, with 37 reported transactions and total deal volume of approximately $350 million across the country, according to Colliers International Hotels’ Hotel INNvestment Canada Report Q1 2018.
Ontario was the primary driver of investment activity, with 10 deals in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Ottawa, Kitchener, Sarnia and northern-Ontario markets accounting for 40 per cent of activity for the quarter. Improved operational performance and investor confidence supported increased trading in Western Canada, with 18 transactions — primarily in the limited-service segment — totalling $123 million in deal volume (35 per cent of national total).
Highlights for the quarter include InnVest Hotels’ sale of a 12-property portfolio to a joint venture between Majin’s Holdings Ltd. and Palm Holdings; the two-hotel sale-leaseback transaction between Gateway Casinos and U.S.-based Mesirow Financial valued at $500 million; and the sale of the 218-key Extended Stay Ottawa Downtown to Ottawa-based Paramount Properties for $48 million — the quarters largest single-asset trade.
