Dorsett City London hotel sold for £115m

Far East Consortium International (FEC) has completed the sale of the Dorsett City London hotel to Cerberus Capital Management and hospitality management and investment firm Highgate for £115m.

The sale of the 267-bedroom property is understood to be London's largest hotel deal this year so far. DHI Hotel Management UK, a wholly-owned subsidiary of FEC, has been appointed to manage and operate the hotel.

Dorsett has also announced plans for a new aparthotel concept, Dao by Dorsett, located adjacent to Dorsett Shepherd's Bush hotel and opening in the fourth quarter of the year. A second site will open in the refurbished Hornsey Town Hall in 2023. The Dorsett Canary Wharf is also still in the pipeline.

Winnie Chiu, executive director of FEC and president and executive director of Dorsett Hospitality International, said: "We are pleased to have completed the sale in a short period of time. We are confident about the recovery of the hotel business in the foreseeable future and remain committed to recycling capital to further expand our footprint worldwide as well as becoming a leader for sustainable travel.

"We are actively exploring various ways of working with our strategic partners to further broaden our hotel portfolio via greenfield, renovation and conversion opportunities globally. The sale demonstrates our ability to build valuable brands and we will continue to develop our asset-light Dorsett hotel management platform in selected regions."

Lee Millstein, president of Cerberus Global Investments and global head of real estate for Cerberus, said: "We are excited to add Dorsett City London to our growing portfolio of high-quality UK and European hospitality assets. With Cerberus and Highgate's combined financial and operational expertise, we believe we will be able to elevate the guest experience and position the hotel for success as the market recovers. We see significant opportunities in the UK and European hospitality sector that play to our strengths and disciplined approach to long-term investing."

Mehdi Khimji, co-founder and managing principal of Highgate, added: "Highgate is excited to collaborate with Cerberus to acquire this prominent London property that is poised to meet the steadily rising demand for premier hospitality experiences for business and leisure. This acquisition is emblematic of Highgate's strategy to expand further into the UK and European markets by acquiring and managing quality assets."

Hong Kong-based Dorsett opened its first UK property in 2014 with the launch of the 317-bedroom Dorsett Shepherd's Bush, followed by the £58m Dorsett City hotel in 2017.

Once all the hotels in its pipeline become operational, FEC will own 44 hotels, operating a total of approximately 11,350 rooms.