The owner of Singaporean accommodation group The Ascott Ltd has announced plans to acquire fellow serviced apartment company Oakwood.
The move will add 81 properties and around 15,000 units to Ascott’s portfolio, with the transaction expected to complete in the third quarter of 2022.
It will increase Ascott’s global portfolio to around 900 properties and over 150,000 units, across 200 cities and 39 countries, and will see the group being present in a number of new markets including Washington DC, Cheongju in South Korea, Zhangjiakou and Qingdao in China, and Dhaka in Bangladesh.
Oakwood operates several brands including Oakwood Premier, Oakwood Living and The Unlimited Collection by Oakwood, and Mr Kevin Goh, CEO for CapitaLand Investment Limited (Ascott’s owner) said that “We intend to build on the strong reputation and heritage of the Oakwood brand, especially in markets across Southeast Asia, North Asia and North America”.
“Oakwood will continue to grow alongside Ascott’s current portfolio of global brands as we continue to build growth momentum for our lodging business,” said Goh.
“We will be able to leverage Ascott’s extensive expertise as a global lodging player to deliver greater value to our expanded network of loyal customers and property owners.”
“Besides strategic alignment, this acquisition is also notable to Ascott commercially. Ascott’s acquisition of Oakwood brings about an immediate boost to our units under management and franchise contracts.
“The Oakwood portfolio will accelerate the growth of our asset-light business, with added recurring fee income streams, expanded lodging offerings and increased customer base. The strategic moves we have made in the last few years, such as our investments in Quest, Synergy and Tauzia have charted an unprecedented growth path for Ascott.”
Oakwood’s properties will sit alongside Ascott’s existing portfolio of established brands including Ascott The Residence and Citadines Apart’hotel, as well as the more-recently launched “co-living” Lyf concept, which is targeting 150 properties by 2030.
Oakwood opened its first property in Melbourne in late 2021, with forthcoming Oakwood Premier destinations including Phnom Penh and Kuala Lumpur.
For our recent look at the thriving serviced apartment sector, see: