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One of Australia’s largest hotel owners and operators, Pro-invest Group, today announced it had purchased the Campbell5 Hotel in Canberra, marking the first asset purchase under its third discretionary investment fund (Fund III).
Located in the heart of Canberra’s defence precinct housing the Department of Defence and ASIO headquarters the new hotel will operate as The Sebel Canberra Campbell, becoming Pro-invest’s second The Sebel-branded hotel in Canberra and its eighteenth hotel overall in Australia.
Pro-invest’s Fund III was launched last year for local and offshore investors wanting to explore hotel opportunities in Australia as the country emerges from the pandemic. Pro-invest is targeting a final close of $500 million for the fund by the end of 2022.
Pro-invest CEO Jan Smits said the group was delighted to have completed Campbell5 as the first deal under its new fund, and to have secured The Sebel as an operating partner.
“The Sebel Canberra Campbell is a high-quality asset – a new build in an ideal location enjoying consistently strong visitor traffic and great access to nearby amenities. It is also a natural fit for The Sebel brand and it is exciting to be extending our partnership with The Sebel and its parent Accor on the back of this deal,” Mr Smits said.
“We intend to continue pursuing asset opportunities in Australia with a view to building Australia’s largest single-owner hotel portfolio.
“We see a healthy pipeline of hotel assets coming onto the Australian market over the medium term – the new fund will position Pro-invest to capture these opportunities and we have been encouraged by the response from investors wanting to participate,” he said.
Located on the corner of Constitution Avenue and ANZAC Parade overlooking Lake Burley Griffin, The Sebel Canberra Campbell was the last stage of the $500 million Campbell5 development comprising serviced apartments and residential, commercial and retail spaces.
As well as the Defence Department and ASIO the hotel enjoys close proximity to Parliament House and nearby government offices, the Australian Defence Force Academy and Royal Military College, Canberra’s CBD and Canberra Airport, and is expected to benefit from year-round demand from
corporate and government visitors.
Accor Pacific CEO Sarah Derry said: “We are delighted to be adding The Sebel Canberra Campbell to our growing portfolio. The property is in a great location with enormous potential. Expanding our footprint with this incredible hotel will bring even more choice for our customers and opportunities for our teams. With Pro-invest we have an experienced partner at our side, who will bring skill and thoughtful detail to the project.”
Michael Simpson, Managing Director CBRE Hotels, which handled the sale, said: “The Campbell5 Hotel sale campaign was managed through the peak of the pandemic attracting widespread interest from both traditional and non-traditional hotel investors, highlighting the resilience of the Canberra
hotel market. The sale of the Campbell5 Hotel, as well as CBRE’s recent campaigns including the Tasman Hobart, Sofitel Sydney Wentworth and Q Station Sydney shows the market’s buy-in to the hotel sectors’ expedited recovery.”
Established in 2010, Pro-invest Group has built a portfolio of 15 wholly owned hotels in Australia and New Zealand with more than 3,400 rooms.
Under Vista Hospitality Group, a joint venture launched with Next Story Group last March, Pro-invest Group will manage another 15 hotels, bringing its total owned and/or managed portfolio in Australasia to 30 hotels offering more than 5,400 rooms in 11 cities, across nine brands including
The Sebel, Kimpton, voco, Indigo, Holiday Inn Express, Ink Hotels and Next Hotels.
Pro-invest Group is a recognised leader in applying sustainability principles to hotel development and operations. Its Holiday Inn Express in Newcastle, opened in 2019, late last year became the first hotel in Australia to achieve carbon-neutral status under the NABERS Climate Active pathway.