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Singapore, 21 June 2021 – CapitaLand’s wholly owned lodging business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott) has entered into two agreements to acquire two properties in Paris, France and Hanoi, Vietnam for about S$210 million. The acquisition of the two properties through the Ascott Serviced Residence Global Fund^[1] (ASRGF), Ascott’s private equity fund with Qatar Investment Authority, will boost Ascott’s total fund assets under management (FUM) to about S$8 billion. Both properties will be acquired on a turnkey basis and are expected to open in 2024^[2].

The acquisition in Paris is a freehold asset which will be refurbished to introduce Ascott’s first coliving property in Europe under the lyf brand. Named livelyfhere Gambetta Paris, the 139-unit coliving property is located in a vibrant district in the 20^th arrondissement, near galleries, cinemas, trendy cafés and restaurants, street art and music venues. With this addition, Ascott has a total of 16 lyf properties with more than 3,100 units across 13 cities and nine countries in Asia Pacific and Europe.

The acquisition in Hanoi is the 364-unit Somerset Metropolitan West Hanoi. It is located in Hanoi’s new Central Business District, close to several government agencies as well as local and international corporations. Somerset Metropolitan West Hanoi is a 10-minute drive to the Vietnam National Convention Centre, the largest convention centre in Vietnam and the Noi Bai International Airport is a 30-minute drive away.

Mr Goh added: “Our acquisition of these two prime properties in France and Vietnam is in line with Ascott’s ambition to expand our global lodging business. With a presence in over 190 cities across over 30 countries, the scale of our operations worldwide gives Ascott favourable access to proprietary deal flows. We are looking to work with like-minded capital partners to set up new funds to expand in resilient asset classes, such as coliving and student accommodation, to accelerate our FUM and FRE growth. Concurrently, we continue to secure more third-party management contracts and franchises to increase Ascott’s property fee income.”

Mr Mak Hoe Kit, Managing Director, Ascott Serviced Residence Global Fund and Head, Business Development, The Ascott Limited, said: “Through Ascott’s proven track record in deal sourcing and origination, the Ascott Serviced Residence Global Fund has acquired eight prime properties located in key gateway cities. The first property that was divested outperformed the expectation of our underwriting. Leveraging Ascott’s global scale, over 30 years of hospitality experience and strong local team on the ground, we are confident that our two new acquisitions in France and Vietnam are in a strong position for success. We will continue to build on our fund’s growth momentum by seeking suitable investment opportunities in long-stay lodging assets in key gateway cities in Asia Pacific and Europe to deliver long-term value for our partners.”

With the acquisition of livelyfhere Gambetta Paris and Somerset Metropolitan West Hanoi, there will be eight properties with close to 1,700 units held under the ASRGF. The fund has five operational properties - Ascott Sudirman Jakarta, Citadines Islington London, La Clef Champs-Élysées Paris, lyf Funan Singapore, and Quest NewQuay Docklands Melbourne. Citadines Walker North Sydney is slated to open in 2022. 

Ascott’s presence in France and Vietnam

Ascott has established a strong presence in France and Vietnam, having been operating in these countries for more than 35 years and over 25 years respectively. With the addition of livelyfhere Gambetta Paris, Ascott will have over 3,500 units in 34 properties across 13 cities in France. Ascott currently has 17 properties in Paris, while the remaining properties are located in cities such as Cannes, Lyon, Marseille, Strasbourg, and Toulouse.

In Vietnam, Somerset Metropolitan West Hanoi will increase Ascott’s portfolio to over 7,600 units across 31 properties in 10 cities. In addition to the gateway cities of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Ascott also has properties in cities such as Binh Duong, Cam Ranh, Danang, Hai Phong, Halong City, Hoi An, Nha Trang and Vung Tau.

^{[1] Ascott set up the US$600 million Ascott Serviced Residence Global Fund in July 2015 through a 50:50 joint venture with Qatar Investment Authority.
[2] For more information on livelyfhere Gambetta Paris and Somerset Metropolitan West Hanoi, please see Annex.
[3] As of end May 2021
[4] Travel + Leisure, France Lays Out New Reopening Plans For American Travelers (Jun 2021)
[5] Startup Genome, The Global Startup Ecosystem Report (2020)}