Savills research shows that activity has been buoyed by portfolio transactions which accounted for close to 70% of volumes so far this year. Some of the standout deals to date include Ares Management Corp. acquiring 21 hotels for a reported £400 million and Blackstone’s acquisition of the Village Hotel platform from KSL Capital Partners for a reported £780m.

Tim Stoyle, Head of UK Hotels at Savills, says: “The increase in volumes marks a turning point for hotel activity and investor confidence; the fact that large portfolio acquisitions are getting over the line highlights returning appetite to increase exposure to the sector post the uncertainty generated by rising debt costs in late 2022 and into 2023.”

Rob Stapleton, Director, Head of UK Hotel Capital Markets at Savills, comments: “The ebb and flow of hotel capital markets has made for a busy year, with larger portfolio and platform transactions very much back in vogue. Investors continue to seek opportunities to deploy capital in the sector with either structural levers, or differentiated business models with aggregation plays the consistent themes we’re seeing. High quality assets also continue to receive substantial interest and, given the volume of opportunities being marketed, we anticipate full year 2024 numbers to surpass £5 billion, more than double the £2.28 billion recorded last year.”