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Ascott boosts portfolio with Oakwood buy

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CapitaLand Investment’s wholly owned lodging business unit, The Ascott Limited said it is set to acquire Oakwood Worldwide (Oakwood), a premier global serviced apartment provider, from Mapletree Investments Private Limited, in a move which will boost its global portfolio by 81 properties and about 15,000 units.

Oakwood’s approximately 8,500 operational units are expected to immediately contribute to Ascott’s recurring fee income streams upon completion of the transaction slated in the third quarter.

Ascott’s acquisition of Oakwood will leapfrog the group’s global presence to more than 150,000 units in about 900 properties across over 200 cities in 39 countries. It will add new markets which include Cheongju in South Korea; Zhangjiakou and Qingdao in China; Dhaka in Bangladesh as well as Washington DC in the US.

Recently named the ‘Best Serviced Residence Brand’ in DestinAsian Readers’ Choice Awards 2022, Oakwood’s award-winning portfolio includes flagship properties Oakwood Premier Tokyo and Oakwood Premier Coex Center Seoul which were ranked top 10 properties in their respective countries in the DestinAsian awards.

New properties such as Oakwood Premier Melbourne and Oakwood Hotel Oike Kyoto, will also add to the group’s destination highlights.

CapitaLand Investment CEO (Lodging) Kevin Goh said: “This acquisition of Oakwood is part of Ascott’s roadmap to playing a bigger role in the lodging market. There are significant synergies between Ascott and Oakwood, given our complementary footprint and product offerings.”

“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,” stated Goh.

Ascott’s strategic investments in the past years include its acquisition of Quest Apartment Hotels (Quest), one of the largest serviced apartment operators in Australasia, in 2017 to grow its business franchise arm.

The very same year, Ascott invested in Synergy Global Housing (Synergy), a leading corporate housing provider in the US.

In 2018, Ascott acquired Tauzia Hotel Management (Tauzia), one of the top hotel operators in Indonesia, to enter the fast-growing mid-scale business hotel segment. With Oakwood coming onboard, Ascott is confident of achieving its target of 160,000 units globally well ahead of 2023.

According to him, Oakwood will continue to grow alongside Ascott’s current portfolio of global brands as it continues to build growth momentum for the group’s lodging business.

“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,” said the top official.

“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 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,” he added.

Vincent Miccolis, Ascott’s Managing Director, Middle East, Africa, Turkey and India, said: “As we look towards strengthening our presence in the region, Oakwood’s sizable global portfolio will contribute significantly to Ascott’s expansion plans.”

“Through this acquisition, we are excited to offer our guests greater opportunities to travel, live and discover with Ascott as they explore key cities and localities worldwide,” he added.   

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