VANCOUVER — Oxford Properties Group has announced plans to sell a 50-per-cent stake in its Canadian Fairmont hotels, according to BNNBloomberg.ca. It’s expected that the deal could be worth more than $1-billion.
The four properties — located in Whistler, B.C., Lake Louise, Alta., Banff Springs, Alta. and Jasper Park, Alta. — represent a combined 2,200 rooms, which draw more than 1.2-million guests a year.
Oxford, the real-estate arm of OMERS, has hired Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. to help sell the stake, which the company has since confirmed. Eric Plesman, head of Canada at Oxford, says that the decision is in line with the group’s overall strategy to grow its global partner program, which now manages more than $18 million in third-party capital.
Oxford plans to keep its equity stake and manage the assets and the hotels will continue to operate under the Fairmont brand. Purchased in 2006, the company has already sold part of the portfolio with the sale of the Fairmont Vancouver Airport and two properties in Montebello, Que.
