Singapore's Raffles Hotel to change hands
by Martin Nash | 08 Apr 2010
Singapore's iconic Raffles Hotel has been acquired by Qatari Diar, the real estate arm of the Qatar Investment Authority, for US$275m (£181m, €206m, S$384m).
The arrangement also sees Qatari Diar injecting US$467m (£307m, €350m) into current owner Toronto-based Fairmont Raffles, in exchange for a 40 per cent stake in the hotel chain. This, plus US$105m (£69m, €79m) in hotel management contracts, brings the overall cost of the deal to US$847m (£557m, €635m). The 103-room, 123-year old hotel - famed for its colonial grandeur, its legendary former guest list and the creation of the Singapore Sling cocktail - is expected to undergo a programme of refurbishment which it is said will include the addition of a further 78 rooms and a revamp to its retail and leisure facilities.
Fairmont Raffles operates around 100 hotels in 24 countries - of which the Singapore property is one and London's Savoy Hotel another - under the Raffles, Fairmont and Swissotel brands. Image courtesy of Bjørn Christian Tørrissen
Singapore's iconic Raffles Hotel has been acquired by Qatari Diar, the real estate arm of the Qatar Investment Authority, for US$275m (£181m, €206m, S$384m). The arrangement also sees Qatari Diar injecting US$467m (£307m, €350m) into current owner Toronto-based Fairmont Raffles, in exchange for a 40 per cent stake in the hotel chain. This, plus US$105m (£69m, €79m) in hotel management contracts, brings the overall cost of the deal to US$847m
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