FEBRUARY 2011 |
www.opp.org.uk
INDUSTRY By Geoff Hadwick
OVERSEAS property investors are missing out on major opportunities in the under-developed hospitality sector in Turkey.
“Hospitality investment in the region
is way behind other industries yet the opportunity is huge, and it is now,” Jonathan Worsley has told OPP. Worsley is chairman of Bench Events
and is one of the organisers behind the Central Asia and Turkey Hotel Investment Conference (CATHIC) … due to be held in Istanbul from February 7 to 9 2011. He believes:
1. That investors need to better understand the potential of the Turkish hospitality sector; 2. That Turkey needs quality mid-market and economy hotels; 3. That more robust Turkish banks must enter dialogue on hotel and hospitality projects; 4. That there is “signifi cant development potential” for new Turkish golf resorts. Mehmet Önkal, managing partner
of BDO Hospitality Consulting agrees, telling OPP “tourism in Turkey is
Dive in | Developers missing opportunities to invest in Turkey’s hospitality sector
growing in leaps and bounds, up by more that 1,000% in two and a half decades … yet the country’s hospitality infrastructure is stuck in yesteryear. “There is a real opportunity for home-
grown investors but they have yet to grasp just how attractive the return on investment in the hospitality sector is.” “The overall average hotel room rate
in Istanbul was €94 in 2005 – and it is €150 today, an increase of more than 50 per cent.” According to Haluk Kaya, President,
Bekay Property Partners, “tourist numbers in Istanbul are showing 20%
growth.” Kaya also believes that good quality mid-market hotels are under- represented in Turkey and there is “an opportunity for three- and four-star hotels throughout the country. “Turkey’s business traveller and
tourist profi le demands a weighty presence of international mid-tier brands, as opposed to fi ve-star trophy assets” he says. “There is a great opportunity for the
likes of Accor with Novotel and Ibis or Courtyard by Marriott and others to develop their mid-market brands across Turkey.”
Chinese cooling measures failing
CHINA’S top developers posted big sales increases in 2010, indicating that government measures to cool the real estate market may not be working. Recently, Chinese banks have
been urged by the country’s banking regulator to continue increase lending to affordable housing projects, in the hope of preventing a property bubble. The latest fi gures show that lending to affordable projects was up 32% year- on-year in November, with a total of 75.1 billion yuan (USD 11.36bn) released by banks. This is the latest in a series of measures aimed at preventing a property bubble, but they do not seem to be succeeding, and sales and prices increased last year, according to the latest fi gures. China Vanke Co, the largest real estate company in China, said its sales in 2010 rose 70.5% to
108.2 billion yuan. The country’s second largest developer, Poly Real Estate Group Co, revealed a 52.53% increase in sales in 2010, totalling 66.17 billion yuan. The third largest, Gemdale Corp, also posted an increase in sales of 34.6% to 28.34 billion. Home prices were up 7.7% year-
on-year in November in China’s 70 cities, according to fi gures from the National Bureau of Statistics. The housing market in China looks set to grow, as the country continues with its economic expansion. The World Bank’s predictions, which were released this week, forecast 8.5% growth in China this year. The report said: “East Asia is well positioned to enjoy further years of strong – albeit more moderate growth over the period to 2012. China will remain the focal point of regional activity.” There were also warnings last month from Singaporean developers
that the cooling measures employed by the Chinese government could backfi re, allowing developers to pick up land cheaper than before. The chief executive of CapitalMalls
Asia, Lim Beng Chee, said: “We didn’t acquire any assets in 2009 because sellers and land tenders were too aggressive and price expectations were too high.” “At the end of last year, when the
government decided to tighten credit, that presented opportunties for us to acquire assets at the right price.”
BILLIONAIRE US developer Donald Trump will enter the Indian property market in March with a luxury residential tower in Mumbai built in conjunction with local developers Rohan Lifescapes Pvt. Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., an executive vice president of the Trump Organization said: “We are doing a very luxury project with Rohan Lifescapes and we’ll be in India later this quarter to launch it offi cially.”
Four Seasons resi project
PLANS for a third Four Seasons hotel in London took a step forward last month with the granting of planning permission for the forthcoming Heron Plaza. Property tycoon Gerald Ronson secured permission to build the new tower, which will also incorporate a major residential development in the heart of the City of London.
Nakheel plans a restart
DUBAI property developer Nakheel is planning to resume work on 5 postponed residential developments at Jumeirah Park, Badrah, Veneto, Jumeirah Heights Clusters, and Jumeirah Village Triangle and Circle. The developer is close to reaching agreement with its creditors on debt restructuring and, it says, it is “currently engaging contractors in the short-term projects”.
Luxury at St Andrews
US-BASED Kohler Co announced this week that it is going to develop the Hamilton Grand building at the Royal & Ancient Golf Club in St. Andrews, Scotland, into 26 luxury residences. The 26 private full ownership residences created by the scheme will include two, three, and four bedroom apartments, as well as a penthouse with a private balcony overlooking the course and its famous 18th Green.
Saudi permissions given
Dubai-based Damac Properties has been granted an offi cial license to develop and sell properties under Saudi Arabia’s new real estate law. It is one of the fi rst overseas companies to be granted one of the new real estate licenses under Saudi law.
Protection | measures could be failing
INDUSTRY Developer news | 13 Major opportunity in Turkey
NEWS IN BRIEF Trump tower for Mumbai
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