Savills : South east & home counties hotels market as stellar year with investment reaching £980 million in 2017

Investment into the south east and home counties hotel market reached a total of £980 million across 46 transactions in 2017, 60% above the levels recorded in 2016. The region accounted for 18% of the total UK volume of £5.4 billion, according to international real estate advisor Savills.

Characterised by individual sales predominantly in the £1 million to £10 million bracket, the average transaction size in the region was circa £15 million notes Savills. Eight transactions took place for assets between £10 and £20 million and nine on assets over £20 million. The average price per key for the south east and home counties reached £135,702 in 2017, in comparison to the UK average of £145,303.

The firm notes key deals in the area such as the sales of Hilton London Heathrow Airport, The Grand Harbour hotel in Southampton and Hunton Park hotel in Hertfordshire. The south east and home counties benefit from a popular coastline with £66 million of the region's transactions occurring on the coast, predominantly in Brighton, Portsmouth and Southampton. The majority of deals occurred in the second half of the year with H2 2017 seeing £740 million of transactions compared to H1 in which £240 million was completed.

Georgie Liggins, surveyor in the hotels team at Savills, comments: 'The south east and home counties hotel market has had a strong year driven by the region's close proximity to both London and the coast. We expect the coastal markets to do particularly well in 2018 as tourist numbers and therefore spend rises with the increasing popularity of staycations and the regeneration of several key seaside resorts.'