This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Conference Delegate Survey is an important barometer of sentiment. Crucially, results showed that confidence within the sector remained robust in 2011. Despite economic turmoil, just over half (51%) of the respondents said current trading was better than expected, whilst 17% said it was unchanged. Turning attention to hotel transactions, van Marken reported a resurgence in global deals with transaction volumes up and portfolio deals on the rise. Investment continued to favour luxury hotels in prime gateways with Deloitte reporting that significant investment in the refurbishment, re-positioning and acquisition of luxury hotels has been seen since the start of the financial crisis in 2008, demonstrating the resilience of markets where barriers to entry remain high and investment capital is seeking opportunities. “Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, global hotel transactions in the first half of


2011 were over double the same period in 2010, however, growth has slowed somewhat in the third quarter given recent uncertainty,” commented van Marken. “In Europe, as predicted at last year’s conference, we have also seen an increase in portfolio deals. Funding continues to be a challenge as lenders focus on reducing their balance sheet risk. Cash-rich investors have been the main beneficiaries of this credit squeeze and several all-equity deals have been seen.” This sentiment was echoed by survey respondents, who believed bank funding was still not readily available. In their view, the most active investors in the next five years will be high net-worth individuals and sovereign wealth funds who are by definition cash-rich. Private equity is expected to become more active, with significant funds raised. The prospect of several major lenders potentially rationalising their holdings, suggesting more stock will come to market, offers possible


opportunities assuming as van Marken notes “both pricing and return expectations can be matched”.


Just in case the audience had gotten too


buoyant, Roger Bootle, Managing Director of Capital Economics presented ‘Macro- Economic Overview: Raising The Odds’. With a reputation for being perpetually pessimistic, Bootle took to the stage announcing that despite his gloominess at last year’s conference, he hadn’t been gloomy enough. Tolerance of high levels of government debt in the good times, excessive reliance on debt-fuelled consumer spending in the West, excessive reliance on exports in the East, and most importantly, the commodity price boom were blamed for the state of the economy, along with the root of today’s problem: “The countries that have the money don’t want to spend it, and the ones that do want to spend, don’t have the money.”


Capital Economics GDP forecasts for WWW.SLEEPERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2012 101


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148