Asian interest eyes Crest Hotel Kings Cross listing

The Singapore-listed Hotel Grand Central has emerged as a contender to buy the Crest Hotel in Sydney’s Kings Cross.

The group owns and operates 11 four-star and 4 ½-star Hotel Grand Chancellor properties in Australia and New Zealand.

The vendor, Australand Property Group, has the hotel in its books at $70 million, but industry sources reportedly told The Australian Financial Review that bids are about $62 million.

Another hotel group reportedly showing interest in the hotel, now run as a Mercure hotel by Accor under a management agreement, has been pinpointed as Chinese group HP Leisure.

It has been listed through John Musca and Mark Durran of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels.

Hotel Grand Central expanded its hotel property interests into Australia and New Zealand in the early 1990s.

In Australasia the hotel network is branded Hotel Grand Chancellor.

Australand paid $63 million in 2007 when bought from the owner of the Coogee Bay Hotel, Chris Cheung, who acquired the property at the corner of Victoria Street and Darlinghurst Road from developers Allen Linz and Eduard Litver.

Its among three hotels straddling the glittering lights of Kings Cross to have been listed for sale, including Mercure Hotel, the D*Lux and the Diamant Hotel.