Serviced residence company The Ascott Limited has added some 11,000 units to its portfolio, making the firm one of the largest serviced residence providers in Australasia.
The boost comes following the company’s recent acquisition of a further 60 per cent stake in Australasia-based Quest Apartment Hotels for A$180 million (US$136.6 million), of which it already had a 20 per cent stake. This brings the company’s approximately 180 properties in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji under the Ascott umbrella.
Ascott currently has plans to hit 80,000 units by 2020, and it now operates 67,000 across 507 properties following the Quest acquisition. “Scale is important for us to offer more options to customers, strengthen our sales and distribution, and help speed up Ascott’s growth,” said Ascott CEO, Lee Chee Koon. “Besides entrenching Ascott’s presence in the developed and stable market of Australia, we will be able to capitalise on the established Quest brand and its highly scalable business format franchise systems.”
Along with the 180 extra properties, the acquisition has also given Ascott its first serviced residence in Brisbane, the 100-unit Quest Cannon Hill expected to open in 2018.
Ascott now has a total of 10 serviced residences in Australia, including Brisbane, Sydney, Hobart, Melbourne and Perth.
