IFA Hotels and Resorts entering North American Market
Kuwait- and Johannesburg-listed IFA Hotels & Resorts is entering the North American market with the development of a new $300m property in Central Manhattan. The hotel is being developed by US real estate group Related Companies.Talal Jassim Al-Bahar, IFA chairman and managing director, said: ‘This deal further diversifies our global portfolio and product mix and places us in a position for further expansion in this region and surrounding areas.’
IFA added it had selected New York for its North America debut because the city’s hotels enjoyed the highest revenue per available room in the US. Occupancy levels for Manhattan hotels average 85%, while rates continue to see double-digit monthly increases.
‘One of the most prolific and visionary developers in the country’, Related has developed or acquired over $15bn in real estate assets and currently has another $9bn-worth of development in the pipeline.
Its portfolio includes the $1.7bn Time Warner Centre in New York City, the $3bn Grand Avenue development in Los Angeles and the $3bn Snowmass Village Resort in Colorado.
With a market capitalisation of over $1bn, IFA has a presence in 15 markets across the Middle East, Europe, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Asia and now North America. This year alone it entered six new countries.
Its strategic alliance and joint venture partners include Kingdom Hotel Investments, Nakheel, Istithmar and RCI. It is also the majority investor in capsule hotel chain Yotel.
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