Christie + Co hotel transaction volume in Austria reaches €120m

Total transaction volumes in Austria’s hotel market in the first six months of the year nearly doubled to €120 million, compared with the same period in 2014.

Lukas Hochedlinger, Managing Director of Christie + Co Austria, and his Hotels team in Vienna witnessed a definite recovery across the hotel sector during the second half of 2014, which has continued unabated in 2015.

Lukas says: “Deal volumes in 2015 so far have met the high expectations.” The hotel investment market has been characterised by several very different individual transactions, with the largest single transaction being the sale of the 300-bedroom Star Inn Hotel Premium Hauptbahnhof, purchased a private investor.

“As in previous years, activity is mainly concentrated in the Austrian capital Vienna, which continues to attract interest from equity-rich Eastern European investors.”

A recent transaction in Vienna was the acquisition of the 130-bedroom Wombat's Naschmarkt by a private Russian investor.

Lukas adds: “Surging demand from domestic buyers has ensured plenty of movement outside of the capital, particularly in the southern province of Carinthia.”

Some notable recent transactions outside of the capital include the sale of the 108-bedroom Hotel Bleibergerhof, sold to the Carinthian hotelier Bernd Hinteregger, and the sale of Hotel Rupertihaus in Heiligenblut to a private investor from Azerbaijan.

“While enthusiasm for premium hotels on the whole is high, demand for midscale and budget hotels continues to exceed supply, and there is currently a good supply in resort destinations.”

Lukas concludes: “The outlook for the Austrian hotel industry remains positive, with some interesting hotels in a variety of categories in the pipeline throughout the country, from Innsbruck to Linz and Vienna.”

“We are witnessing increased competition for assets coming on to the market, particularly in key markets such as Vienna and Salzburg.”